UK Parliament overwhelmingly rejects May’s Brexit deal

Theresa May's government survives no-confidence vote
Published time: 16 Jan, 2019 19:16
Edited time: 16 Jan, 2019 19:26
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Theresa May's government survives no-confidence vote
The UK government led by Theresa May, has survived to fight another day, after winning a no-confidence vote, tabled by Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, following parliament rejecting the PM's Brexit deal, earlier on Tuesday evening.
The no-confidence vote was defeated by 19 votes – the government winning by 325 to 306. It's a rare positive note for May's Tory cabinet after the humiliating Brexit defeat.

Speaking immediately after the vote, a victorious May said she was "pleased" that the House expressed its confidence in her government. May said she will "continue to work" to deliver on the result of the Brexit referendum and leave the EU.

May invited the leaders of parliamentary parties to meet with her individually, beginning on Wednesday evening.

"I stand ready to work with any member of this House to deliver on Brexit," she said.

Responding to the vote, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that the House had “emphatically” rejected May’s deal on Tuesday. The government, he said, must now remove “clearly once and for all the prospect of the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit from the EU and all the chaos that would result from that.”

Labour will now have to consider what move to make next. Their official Brexit policy, decided by members at conference in September, states that if a general election cannot be forced, then all options should be left on the table, including calling for a second referendum.

Risk of 'no deal' Brexit has never been so high - EU negotiator Barnier
Published time: 16 Jan, 2019 08:17
Edited time: 16 Jan, 2019 08:51
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Risk of 'no deal' Brexit has never been so high - EU negotiator Barnier
Reuters / Henry Nicholls
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has told the European Parliament that the risk of no deal on Brexit has never been higher, and that he fears “more than ever” a chaotic UK departure from the bloc.
Barnier hinted that the EU is ready to renegotiate a new deal on Britain exiting the EU if London is willing to give way on some of the pre-existing ‘red lines’ hammered out in the previous, now defeated, Brexit plan put forth by embattled Prime Minister Theresa May.

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The EU negotiator did, however, insist that preventing a physical border on the island of Ireland was non-negotiable.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is currently just about propping up May’s minority government, does not view an Article 50 extension as necessary.

“I don’t think [an extension of Article 50] is inevitable, and it’s not in my view necessary because the EU can act when it wants to,” DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said, as quoted by Reuters. “On the [Irish] backstop, people want to see that we are not trapped into it.”

Conservative British MP and Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom stated that she believes Prime Minister Theresa May will survive Wednesday’s no-confidence vote, reiterating that the government has been engaging with opposition party leadership on the Brexit issue.
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Leadsom added that all parties must find a way to salvage May’s original deal, in part at least, or find an alternative to put to the EU as quickly as possible.

“The prime minister will then not necessarily be looking for brand new ideas that no one has thought of before, but actually seeking a consensus, actually a fresh initiative to find a solution that is negotiable with the European Union and that would command a majority in the House of Commons,” Leadsom said.

The Tory was steadfast in rejecting claims that the current British government would not delay Article 50, and that while a ‘no-deal’ Brexit is not ideal, it is, however, the legal default in a worst-case scenario.

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Meanwhile, Belgium’s Guy Verhofstadt has called for all parties to “come out of the trenches” and agree a common policy position on Brexit, but said that Britain must offer more leeway on its “red line” issues in the negotiations. 

Verhofstadt also stated that it would be unwise to extend Article 50 beyond the upcoming EU parliamentary elections.

His comments came just one day after the British Parliament decisively struck down May’s draft Brexit deal on Tuesday by 432 votes to 202 – a record margin of 230.

No sooner had the votes been cast than opposition and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a no confidence motion against May’s Tory government in the House of Commons. If defeated, May would have just 14 days in office, after which a second confidence vote would take place which could, in turn, trigger a general election.

Corbyn tables no confidence vote in May's Tory govt
Published time: 15 Jan, 2019 19:48
Edited time: 15 Jan, 2019 19:49
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Corbyn tables no confidence vote in May's Tory govt
Theresa May's Tory government is to face a vote of no confidence after the Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, tabled the motion following the PM's Brexit deal being voted down by parliament on Tuesday evening.
If May's government are defeated, which requires a majority of one in the house of commons, the UK prime minister will have 14 days to stay in office. A second confidence vote will then take place - failure to win such a vote would automatically trigger a general election.

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‘He has failed his responsibility’: Theresa May attacks Jeremy Corbyn at final Brexit debate

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UK Parliament overwhelmingly rejects May’s Brexit deal
Lawmakers shoot down PM’s proposal in devastating 432-202 vote, plunging the bid to leave the European Union into chaos
By JILL LAWLESS, DANICA KIRKA and GREGORY KATZ
Today, 10:02 pm  0

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, January 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) — British lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal with the European Union, plunging the Brexit process into chaos.

The 432-202 vote in the House of Commons was widely expected but still devastating for May, whose fragile leadership is now under siege.

Lawmakers finally got their chance to say yes or no to May’s deal after more than two years of political upheaval — and said no. It was the biggest defeat for a government in the House of Commons in more than a century.

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The vote means further turmoil for British politics only 10 weeks before the country is due to leave the EU on March 29. It is not clear if it will push the government toward an abrupt “no-deal” break with the EU, nudge it toward a softer departure, trigger a new election or pave the way for a second referendum that could reverse Britain’s decision to leave.

May, who leads a fragile Conservative minority government, has made delivering Brexit her main task since taking office in 2016 after the country’s decision to leave the EU.

“This is the most significant vote that any of us will ever be part of in our political careers,” she told lawmakers as debate ended. “The time has now come for all of is in this House to make a decision, … a decision that each of us will have to justify and live with for many years to come.”


Pro-European demonstrators hold EU flags at Parliament Square in London, January 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
But the deal was doomed by deep opposition from both sides of the divide over UK’s place in the bloc. Pro-Brexit lawmakers say the deal will leave Britain bound indefinitely to EU rules, while pro-EU politicians favor an even closer economic relationship with Europe.

The government and opposition parties ordered lawmakers to cancel all other plans to be on hand for the crucial vote. Labour legislator Tulip Siddiq delayed the scheduled cesarean birth of her son so she could attend, arriving in a wheelchair.

As lawmakers debated in the House of Commons chamber, outside there was a cacophony of chants, drums and music from rival bands of pro-EU and pro-Brexit protesters. One group waved blue-and-yellow EU flags, the other brandished “Leave Means Leave” placards.

May postponed a vote on the deal in December to avoid certain defeat, and there were few signs ahead of Tuesday’s vote that sentiment had changed significantly since then.


British Prime Minister Theresa May answering questions in Parliament on July 20, 2016. (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor)
The most contentious section of the deal is an insurance policy known as the “backstop” that is designed to prevent the reintroduction of border controls between the UK’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

Assurances from EU leaders that the backstop is intended as a temporary measure of last resort completely failed to win over many British skeptics, and the EU is adamant that it will not renegotiate the 585-page withdrawal agreement.

Arlene Foster, who leads Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party — May’s parliamentary ally — said her party voted against the deal because of the backstop.

“We want the PM to go back to the EU and say ‘the backstop must go,'” Foster said.

Parliament has given May until Monday to come up with a new proposal. So far, May has refused publicly to speculate on a possible “Plan B.”

Some Conservatives expect her to seek further talks with EU leaders on changes before bringing a tweaked version of the bill back to Parliament, even though EU leaders insist the agreement cannot be renegotiated.


European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker delivers a speech during a debate on the future of Europe during a plenary session at the 
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker returned Tuesday to Brussels to deal with Brexit issues arising from the vote, amid signals May might be heading back to EU headquarters on Wednesday.

An EU official, who asked not to be identified because of the developing situation, said that it was “Important that he is available and working in Brussels during the coming hours.”

May had argued that rejecting the agreement would lead either to a reversal of Brexit — overturning voters’ decision in the 2016 referendum — or to Britain leaving the bloc without a deal. Economists warn that an abrupt break from the EU could batter the British economy and bring chaotic scenes at borders, ports and airports.

Business groups had appealed for lawmakers to back the deal to provide certainty about the future.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said parliamentarians “hold the future of the British automotive industry — and the hundreds and thousands of jobs it supports — in their hands.”

“Brexit is already causing us damage in output, costs and jobs, but this does not compare with the catastrophic consequences of being cut adrift from our biggest trading partner overnight,” he said.

The defeat leaves May’s position precarious. The Labour Party says it will call a no-confidence vote in the government if the deal is defeated in an attempt to trigger a general election.

The party has not disclosed the timing of such a motion, which could come as early as Tuesday night, triggering a vote on Wednesday.

Amid the uncertainty, some members of Parliament from both government and opposition parties are exploring ways to use parliamentary procedures to wrest control of the Brexit process away from the government, so that lawmakers by majority vote could specify a new plan for Britain’s EU exit.

But with no clear majority in Parliament for any single alternate course, there is a growing chance that Britain may seek to postpone its departure date while politicians work on a new plan.