MPs back votes on Brexit alternatives by 329 votes to 302

MPs have voted to take control of Commons business in an unprecedented move to try to find a majority for any Brexit option.

The government was defeated by 329 votes to 302 on the cross-party amendment, a majority of 27.

Thirty Tory MPs voted against the government, including three ministers – Richard Harrington, Alistair Burt and Steve Brine.

The three have now resigned from their junior ministerial jobs.

LIVE: MPs take control of Brexit process
Labour’s Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer called the government’s defeat “humiliating”.

Following the vote, Sir Keir tweeted: “Another humiliating defeat for a prime minister who has lost complete control of her party, her Cabinet and of the Brexit process.

“Parliament has fought back – and now has the chance to decide what happens next.”

Theresa May had tried to head off a defeat by offering MPs a series of votes on Brexit alternatives, organised by the government.

She said allowing MPs to take over the Commons agenda would have set an “unwelcome precedent”.

But supporters of the amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin, said they did not trust the government to give MPs a say on the full range of Brexit options.

The so-called indicative votes are set to take place on Wednesday.

MPs will be able to vote on a series of options – likely to include a “softer Brexit” and another referendum – designed to test the will of Parliament to see what, if anything, commands a majority.

The prime minister said she was “sceptical” about the process – as it was not guaranteed to produce a majority for any one course of action – and she would not commit the government to abiding by the result.

“No government could give a blank cheque to commit to an outcome without knowing what it is,” she told MPs.

“So I cannot commit the government to delivering the outcome of any votes held by this House. But I do commit to engaging constructively with this process.”

The government narrowly defeated a bid by Labour’s Dame Margaret Beckett to give MPs a vote on asking for another Brexit extension if a deal has not been approved by 5 April. Dame Margaret’s amendment was voted down by 314 to 311, a majority of three.

BBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.