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Brexit: May faces Corbyn at PMQs ahead of no-confidence vote – Politics live Brexit: MPs debate no-confidence motion after May's deal defeat – Politics live
(about 1 hour later)
Corbyn says it was shocking that the Labour MP Tulip Siddiq had to vote last night despite being heavily pregnant.
Anna Soubry, a Conservative, makes a point of order. Was Siddiq offered a pair?
John Bercow, the speaker, says his understanding was that Siddiq was offered a pair. But MPs have expressed their concern nonetheless, he says.
(The row was about Siddiq not being able to vote by proxy. A proxy vote would have meant she was recorded as voting against. Pairing just means that someone on the other side abstains too, which would have meant Siddiq being recorded as not having voted. And Siddiq expressed reservations about pairing, because the Tories have broken pairing arrangements in the past.)
Jeremy Corbyn is opening the no-confidence debate.
He says last night the government lost the Brexit vote by more than 200 votes. No other government has lost a vote by that many. And last week the government lost a vote on the finance bill.
He says any PM who loses a vote like this should resign.
He says this is what happened in the past. When the Liberal government lost votes on Lloyd George’s budget in 1910, it went to the country.
(Corbyn is using arguments fleshed out in this Guardian article by Emily Thornberry.)
The SNP’s Pete Wishart asks what will Labour’s Brexit policy be if there is an election: will it be for Brexit or against?
Corbyn says Labour is a democratic party. The party will decide.
The most interesting question at Westminster today is that raised by Nicola Sturgeon earlier this morning (see 9.58am); in her cross-party talks with MPs about an alternative Brexit plan, is Theresa May willing to abandon any of her rigid red lines? To his credit, Jeremy Corbyn homed in on this in his very first question, and the topic was raised repeatedly by other MPs. (Or at least those who raised Brexit; it was surprising how many MPs seemed happy to stick with run-of-the-mill questions less than 24 hours after May broke all records for parliamentary humiliation.)
As usual, instead of properly engaging with the red lines question, May instead stuck to parroting the most recent line-to-take in her memory, the text of the statement she delivered to MPs last night about wanting “constructive” talks while still honouring the result of the referendum. She would not address the question about whether she might now agree to the UK remaining in the customs union for good in any meaningful way, but her tone conveyed the clear impression that her lines remain almost as red as ever and that she is not seriously contemplating a departure from what she has already proposed.
But on one issue, she did hint that she is having a rethink. Her response to Ken Clarke about extending article 50 (see 12.30am) implied that, if she is not exactly keen on extending article 50, she is at least less hostile to the idea than she was. (Some people assume that extending article 50 would automatically amount to a move in the direction of a softer Brexit, but that is not necessarily the case; she might want to extend it just to allow more time for no-deal preparations.)
Corbyn was probably at his best when he asked about Brexit. He quite successfully exposed the hollowness of May’s offer on cross-party talks. After that, he asked about poverty and other domestic policy issues, achieving some fairly easy hits but without saying anything especially memorable.
The real debate about May’s domestic record will probably start shortly.
Sarah Wollaston, the Tory pro-European, asks May to back a second referendum. May says MPs must accept the referendum result.
Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, welcomes May’s offer of cross-party talks. He says, as a former coalition colleague, May knows the Lib Dems will work with others in the national interest. But May should not even lift up the phone unless she is willing to rule out a no-deal Brexit and have constructive conversation about a people’s vote.
May says the way to avoid no deal is to back a deal. And she says some MPs are unwilling to hold constructive talks with her.
Labour’s Ian Lucas asks about the proposed Hitachi nuclear power station in north Wales in relation to her meeting with the Japanese PM last week.
May says she did raise this topic. But it is for the company to make a commercial decision about whether or not to go ahead, she says.
The Conservative Nicky Morgan asks May if she agrees that all MPs need to maintain maximum flexibility as they look for an alternative Brexit solution.
May says she will approach the talks in a constructive spirit. But it is important to honour the referendum result, she says.
Labour’s Ronnie Campbell says a recent survey said 4 million workers were living in poverty. Will May call a general election?
May repeats the point about the number of people in absolute poverty being at a record low.
The SNP’s Stewart McDonald asks May which of her red lines she is willing to give up.
May says she will approach these talks in a constructive spirit. But the government has to deliver on the result of the referendum, she says.
Phillip Lee, a Conservative pro-Euroepan who resigned as a minister because he opposed May’s deal, asks May if she accepts that she may now have to change her mind about her Brexit plan.Phillip Lee, a Conservative pro-Euroepan who resigned as a minister because he opposed May’s deal, asks May if she accepts that she may now have to change her mind about her Brexit plan.
May says she will be talking to a wide range of MPs.May says she will be talking to a wide range of MPs.
Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi asks about the drug primodos, and research showing it caused deformities.Labour’s Yasmin Qureshi asks about the drug primodos, and research showing it caused deformities.
May says a minister is leading a review looking at what impact it had. That study will be considered very carefully.May says a minister is leading a review looking at what impact it had. That study will be considered very carefully.
Tracey Crouch, a Conservative, ask about apprentices. May says she has met many young people who say that is the right approach for them. Tracey Crouch, a Conservative, asks about apprentices. May says she has met many young people who say that is the right approach for them.
Ken Clarke, the Tory pro-European, says he listened to many hours of the Brexit debate. He says the only proposals for which there was majority support were rejecting no deal, extending article 50, and some form of customs union with the EU. Just as he has had to accept the need to leave the EU, will May accept the need to modify her red lines too?
May says it is because there are so many views that she is holding discussions with MPs. She says article 50 cannot be extended by the UK on its own. The EU would only extend article 50 if there were a plan moving towards a deal, she says.
Labour’s Roberta Blackman-Woods asks about health inequalities. People in Durham have worse outcomes than people in Windsor. So why is spending on public health being cut?
May says the public health budget will be decided in the spending review. But it is not just the public health budget that affects people’s health.
Helen Grant, a Conservative, asks May if she agrees that if MPs fail to deliver on the referendum, the public perception of politicians will be at an all-time low.
May says she agrees. “We need to deliver Brexit for the British people.”
Labour’s Seema Malhotra says last night May said she would hold talks with MPs in a constructive spirit. But now it seems she just wants to invite them in to tell them her deal is best. Is she prepared to change any of her red lines?
Mays says she will meet with parliamentarians, and look to see what can get the support of this House. But what this House must have in mind is the importance of delivering on the referendum result.
Trudy Harrison, a Conservative, asks May if she will meet with workers from the nuclear power plant in Copeland.
May says she is aware of how important the nuclear industry is in Cumbria. She suggests Harrison meets with a business minister.
Labour’s Peter Kyle says May’s defeat yesterday was historic and Titanic. Everything has changed, and May must change too. If May is not going to give people the power to have a say over this deal, then what has become of her promise to empower people.
May says people voted to leave the EU in 2016. She thinks the government, and parliament, have a duty to deliver on that.
Jeremy Lefroy, a Conservative, says the government has committed vast amounts of money to the NHS. But can May look at home money is allocated to CCGs [clinical commissioning groups].
May says changes have been made to the CCG allocations for 2019-20.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, said yesterday the attorney general said any new deal would be much the same as the old one. Will she admit that plan B will be much the same as plan A?
May says she wants to hold talks with parliamentarians to find out what will get the support of the house. But she repeats the point about honouring the result of the referendum.
Blackford says May has failed. It is an omnishambles. Westminster may have failed, but Scotland is united. She says the PM must seek the confidence of the people. May should extend article 50 and ask the people if they want her deal or remain. She should legislate for a people’s vote.
May says the Commons legislated for a people’s vote in 2016.
Robert Goodwill, a Conservative, asks about the ”northern powerhouse”, and company selling exports to China.
May says she has met this company. She cannot talk about its China contract, but this is what the northern powerhouse is about.
Corbyn says May knows his Brexit policy – he wants a customs union with the EU.
One of the problems with the government is its disregard for statistics. There are 21,000 police officers. When May was home secretary, she would not accept police cuts had an impact on crime. Will she admit she got it wrong?
May defends her Home Office record. Corbyn only talks about money, she says. What matters also is what powers the police get. She says Corbyn consistently voted against more powers for the police.
Corbyn says a Labour government properly funded the police. Ask people if they feel safer now. We know that the answer will be, she says. He rattles of a list of areas where the government is failing, and it has failed on the most important issue, Brexit. Every previous PM would have resigned after last night’s defeat.
May says Corbyn has been calling for an election for weeks. Yet on Sunday, when asked if he would campaign to leave the EU in an election campaign, Corbyn refused to answer. He has let antisemitism run riot in his party. He would abandon our allies and wreck the economy. We will never let that happen, she says.