Theresa May Suffers Fresh Commons Defeat
Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on the prime minister - who did not take part
in the debate - to "admit her Brexit strategy has failed".
Tory
Brexiteer rebels abstained, saying the government's motion implied a no-deal
Brexit would be ruled out.
Ministers
said that was not the case but defeat would make life more difficult for the PM
in EU talks.
Downing Street
blamed Mr Corbyn for the defeat, saying he had "yet again put partisan
considerations ahead of the national interest" by voting against the
government's motion.
A
No 10 spokesman said the PM would continue to seek legally-binding changes to
the controversial Irish backstop, as MPs had instructed her to do in a Commons
vote on 29 January.
"While
we didn't secure the support of the Commons this evening, the prime minister
continues to believe, and the debate itself indicated, that far from objecting
to securing changes to the backstop that will allow us to leave with a deal,
there was a concern from some Conservative colleagues about taking no deal off
the table at this stage," he added.
The prime minister
this evening suffered another perilous and decisive Brexit defeat - despite
frantic last minute attempts to win over disgruntled Tory Brexiteers.
A defeat which, while
it has no legal force, seems set to shatter the uneasy truce on the Tory
backbenches.
All day, talks between
Number 10 and Mrs May's backbench opponents have rumbled on, with Brexiteers
unhappy that the government appeared to be ruling out a no-deal Brexit.
Number 10 warned
hardline Leavers that defeat for Mrs May would scupper attempts to negotiate
the revised Brexit deal they wanted. All seemingly to no ava
The latest Commons
defeat came after the pro-Brexit Tory European Research Group announced they
had taken a "collective decision" to abstain.
Members of the group,
which is chaired by Jacob Rees-Mogg said supporting the motion would have
amounted to an endorsement of efforts to rule out a no-deal Brexit.
Downing Street had
earlier warned that defeat could damage the prime minister's negotiating
position, as she seeks to make changes to the controversial backstop
"insurance policy" in her deal to avoid customs checks between
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Steve Baker, deputy
chairman of the ERG told BBC News the group still supported efforts to get
"alternative arrangements" to replace the controversial Irish
backstop plan, describing Mrs May's defeat as a "storm in a teacup".
Commenting on Mrs
May's latest defeat, Jeremy Corbyn said: "Two weeks ago, the prime
minister told Parliament that her new approach could 'secure a substantial and
sustainable majority' in Parliament.
"However,
tonight's vote has proved that there is no majority for the prime minister's
course of action.
"This can't go
on. The government can't keep ignoring Parliament or ploughing on towards 29
March without a coherent plan."
He added that the PM
needed to admit her strategy had failed "and come back with a proposal
that can truly command majority support in Parliament".
Mrs May has promised
MPs a final, decisive vote on her Brexit deal with the EU when she has secured
the changes to it that she believes MPs want to see.
She believes she can
secure a Commons majority for the deal if she can get legally-binding changes
to the backstop clause - something the EU has consistently ruled out.
A Labour amendment
calling for the final, meaningful vote to be held before 27 February was
earlier defeated by 16 votes.
An SNP amendment,
which was also backed by the Liberal Democrats, calling for Britain's departure
from the EU on 29 March to be delayed by three months, was defeated by 93 votes
to 315, after most Labour MPs abstained.
FROM .bbc.com/news/uk-politics-
No comments