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Brexit vote: May faces historic defeat as deal's fate looms – Politics live
Brexit vote: May faces historic defeat as deal's fate looms – Politics live
(35 minutes later)
Tim Farron, the former Lib Dem leader, says the only democratic, peaceful and consensual way through this “appalling mess” is to hold another referendum.
Just issued new pictures from @HouseofCommons ahead of the meaningful vote (please credit appropriately, as per description. UK Parliament @Jess__Taylor__ /Mark Duffy) pic.twitter.com/EojveD2tgk
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown tells MPs that, as a Brexiter, he will be voting for the deal. He is worried about Brexit being halted if Theresa May’s deal is defeated, he says. But in return for voting for the deal, he wants the government to come back with a better deal.
From ITV’s Angus Walker
This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.
Labour’s @TulipSiddiq arrives for the vote in a wheelchair. Astonishing that there isn’t a proxy vote system for MPs so close to giving birth. Colleague advising her that as long as a whip comes out and sees her on palace property she can be ‘nodded through’ #Brexit
Incidentally, one very well plugged in source said this afternoon what no one has been really considering publicly in the (very foolish) numbers game, is number of abstentions which could be very large, and could make all the difference when it comes to the finally tally
Matt Warman, the Tory MP for Boston and Skegness, says his constituency was the most pro-Brexit. If Brexit is not delivered, it will be hard to argue that the UK is a democracy, he claims.
In the Commons debate, Crispin Blunt, a Tory Brexiter, is speaking now. He quotes from a Telegraph article (paywall) written by an anonymous civil servant saying the government is much better prepared for a no-deal Brexit than it admits. The civil servant said:
He will vote with the PM tonight, because he is committed to Brexit. He says voting against the deal will “put winds in the sails of those who are seeking to stop it”.
An enormous effort by thousands of hardworking civil servants has been made to ensure that if we leave the EU without a deal, “crashing out” over a “cliff-edge” is simply not going to be an option, and it is purely a political decision not to make this clear to the public and nervous backbench MPs.
He says the risk of being stuck in the backstop is smaller than the risk of Brexit not happening.
This is from the Times’ Sam Coates.
Corbyn deep in conversation with the speaker....
Key cabinet figures reach out after vote pic.twitter.com/fUMMdjdRCg
Advance warning that he is going to table a no confidence motion?
Here are two of the clearer and more comprehensible “what happens next” graphics available.
From the Telegraph’s Steven Swinford
This one’s from the BBC.
Hearing Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay's PPS Eddie Hughes could quit tonight over the PM's deal. We've been to him for comment - he's yet to respond.He's one of several PPS's who could quit tonight rather than vote for PM's deal.
Here’s our guide to what happens if Theresa May's Brexit deal is rejected tonight. The government will have just three parliamentary working days to come back with its next steps. https://t.co/E2AVPNU0FZ pic.twitter.com/MkZInEUSDn
From the Spectator’s James Forsyth
And this one’s from Bloomberg.
Irony of the competing demos outside parliament is that they'd all be voting in the same division lobby tonight
If the #BrexitVote doesn't pass, here are the likely options: - May could try to renegotiate- She could put the deal back to Parliament and hope for a different answer- Parliament could force a compromise Brexit - Second referendum - General election- Crash out of the EU pic.twitter.com/76fV8AuYoY
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is in the gallery to watch the final speech and votes.
This is from my colleague Lisa O’Carroll.
PM has just entered the chamber mid-speech from one Labour MP just as he says she has “failed miserably”. She raises her eyebrows...
NEW: While Westminster debate continues Irish cabinet has today agreed to put forward one omnibus bill to speed no deal contingencies laws through. The 17 part bill will address everything from health to tax and justice. See screen grab pic.twitter.com/z5EUj6CFel
Philip May is in the Chamber to watch the PM wrap up the Brexit debate. Sadiq Khan is also here to watch.
The Conservative MP John Baron is speaking now, moving his amendment. (See 2.47pm.) He says that he accepts the need for compromise, but that he finds the backstop unacceptable.
Mike Wood, a Conservative, tells the Commons he expected to resign as a PPS today so he could vote against the deal. But he now fears Brexit could be stopped if the deal is defeated. So he will be voting with the government, he says. He says he does not want to see Brexit “stolen”.
He says if the EU knows it cannot keep the UK in the backstop, it is more likely to offer the UK a good trade deal. If his amendment is not passed, he will vote against the government, he says.
The SNP’s Joanna Cherry says it is clear that Scotland was lied to during the 2014 independence referendum. Scotland was told it would be an equal partner with England, and that if it stayed in the UK, it would stay in the EU. Both were not true. Now she wants a second referendum on Brexit, and on Scottish independence, she says.
The SNP’s Hannah Bardell says she studied alongside Erasmus students at university. She says what is happening to EU students under Brexit is a disgrace.
My colleague Peter Walker thinks some of the pro-Brexit campaigners outside the Houses of Parliament need to learn their history.
Back in the debate, the Conservative MP Richard Bacon has just told MPs that he will vote against Theresa May’s deal because it does not deliver Brexit.
Outside parliament, small group of yellow vest/Leave Means Leave people switch from chanting “Soubry is a Nazi” to “There’s only one James Goddard”. Worth noting it’s only Goddard who has actually called for millions of people to be deported on the basis of their religion. pic.twitter.com/E8tO9rx0D7
By 5pm, thousands had gathered in Parliament Square in front of a stage and two huge video screens for the live broadcast of the debate and vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
This is from the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
No-deal supporters were nowhere to be seen as Caroline Lucas made the first speech.
NEW 80 Tory Eurosceptic MPs and peers attended one of the best attended European Research Group meetings in recent weeks tonight. The MPs pledged to vote against Theresa May's deal. Nothing has changed.
She said:
Caroline Johnson, a Conservative, said she would be supporting the deal. She said those in favour of Brexit had the odds against them; it was like being one player down, 10 against 11, with a referee who was taking sides.
We’ve got a really clear message for the prime minister and I hope she’s listening, because our message is that we will not be blackmailed into accepting her dangerous blindfold Brexit deal.
After she finished, John Bercow, the Speaker, intervened angrily to say that he was not biased, that he had chaired every hour of the debate, and that he had done his best to ensure every MP had their say.
Our message is we reject her vision of a mean-minded little Britain with our borders closed. Our message is that we are going to stand up in particular for our young people who voted overwhelmingly to remain and who believe our future is in Europe.
Sir Hugo Swire, a Conservative, told MPs in the debate that he would be voting against Theresa May’s deal. He says he cannot accept the idea of the UK being trapped in the backstop.
Across the road there are still far too many MPs who are playing political games, who are playing parlour games, and they are forgetting what’s at stake: people’s lives and people’s livelihoods.
One of the reasons we opposed Theresa May’s Brexit deal is because we know that every single deal will make this country poorer.
Hundreds of People’s Vote supporters are gathered outside Westminster listening to speeches from MPs. Caroline Lucas just spoke, Stephen Doughty up now. pic.twitter.com/BnArAPB6fc
I have beefed up some of the earlier posts with direct quotes from the debate from the Press Association. But to get them to show up, you may need to refresh the page.
The time limit on speeches is now down to three minutes. But the Tory Brexiter Julian Lewis needed only about 20 seconds. Asked to deliver his speech, he said because Brexit should mean Brexit, and because no deal was better than a bad deal, he would vote “no, no, no”.
He was probably channelling Margaret Thatcher.
UPDATE: Here is the Julian Lewis version.
The shortest speech in the Commons today (and the whole debate?) from Tory MP Julian Lewis, lasting a whole 18 seconds.Spoiler alert: he won't be supporting the PM's deal... pic.twitter.com/5zdDEBwoqS
Nick Boles, the Conservative who has said he will do what it takes to stop a no-deal Brexit, has recorded another threat he has received.
Today someone called and promised to burn my house down. What ever next? The ducking stool?
