Having postponed the “meaningful vote” on her controversial Brexit deal by over a month, Prime Minister Theresa May saw it voted down by in the House of Commons by 432 votes to 202, representing a margin of 230 votes. Following her heavy defeat – the largest Government defeat in over a century – Mrs May acknowledged: “It is clear that the House does not support this deal”.
- Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of “no confidence” in the Government
- The Prime Minister has three days to come up with an amended proposal
- There appears to be little appetite in Europe to reopen negotiations
Having postponed the “meaningful vote” on her controversial Brexit deal by over a month, Prime Minister Theresa May saw it voted down by in the House of Commons by 432 votes to 202, representing a margin of 230 votes. Following her heavy defeat – the largest Government defeat in over a century – Mrs May acknowledged: “It is clear that the House does not support this deal”.
“The largest Government defeat in over a century”
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn immediately tabled a motion of “no confidence” in the Government. This motion is set to be resolved quickly; if the Government loses the vote of no confidence, it will have 14 days to win a second confidence vote. If the Government loses both the first and second votes, a General Election will be called – and this is likely to affect the existing Brexit timetable. The Brexit deadline of 11pm on 29 March 2019 is enshrined in law, and any change to this date would have to be approved by Parliament.
On the other hand, if – as appears likely – the Prime Minister survives the no-confidence vote, she intends to return to the House of Commons on Monday 21 January with an amended proposal for MPs to consider. The European Union Withdrawal Act outlines the process now that Mrs May’s deal has rejected by MPs, and the Government has three days (recently and controversially cut from 21 days) to come up with a new deal to put before the House of Commons.
The massive scale of the Government’s defeat suggests that, if a Brexit deal is to gain a majority in the House of Commons, the deal will have to change – and there appears to be little appetite in Brussels to reopen negotiations. Last November, European Council President Donald Tusk warned: “If this deal is rejected in the Commons, we are left with … “no deal, or no Brexit at all”. Following MPs’ rejection of the deal in the House of Commons, Mr Tusk observed: “If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?” Meanwhile, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker commented: “I take note with regret of the outcome of the vote … I urge the UK to clarify its intentions as soon as possible. Time is almost up”.
