LAST UPDATE | 1 Apr 2019
MPS IN THE House of Commons voted on four Brexit options this evening, in a bid to find a path forward.
It came after Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal deal was rejected for a third time last Friday.
Finding a consensus on a way forward has proved impossible to date – last Wednesday MPs rejected eight options put to them in a series of indicative votes.
Tonight was no different as four options were put to UK politicians to try once again to break the Brexit impasse.
Here you have all the developments and reactions to tonight’s votes.
Speaker John Bercow has chosen the four motions before MPs this evening.
MPs are due to vote on the options presented to them between 8pm and 8.30pm.
It took over two hours for the votes to be counted last week – but the process should be quicker this evening, as there are only four options and not eight.
For a full run-down on where the UK (and Europe) is at on Brexit in the wake of the weekend, TheJournal.ie‘s Órla Ryan has more here.
To give you a taster of the political climate in Westminster today, Theresa May’s chief whip Julian Smith has said the current situation is the “worst example” of cabinet ill-discipline in British political history.
He was speaking to the BBC.
This is a bit of fun (much needed today…)
Gráinne Ní Aodha here taking the Liveblog over for a short while. Nigel Farage says that all four amendments chosen for tonight are pro-Remain.
Let’s have a look at them so.
Motion (C) – a Customs union
In the last indicative vote, Clarke’s customs union amendment lost by just 6 votes, the narrowest margin of the night.
This makes this amendment the most likely to succeed: it calls for “any Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration negotiated with the EU must include, as a minimum, a commitment to negotiate a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU”. Note that’s a customs union, not the customs union.
Motion (D) – the Common Market 2.0
This has been dubbed as the Norway Plus option.
It suggests joining the Efta and the EEA, two trade groups that have a close relationship with the EU. But they would need to accept the UK’s request to enter.
Motion (E) – a Confirmatory public vote
Very simply, and with a lot of support, this suggestion calls for whatever Brexit arrangement that is chosen to be approved in a referendum.
That this House will not allow in this Parliament the implementation and ratification of any withdrawal agreement and any framework for the future relationship unless and until they have been approved by the people of the United Kingdom in a confirmatory public vote.
Finally, Motion (G) - Parliamentary Supremacy
This complicated amendment, in short, calls for Article 50 to be revoked if no agreement has been reached in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Sorry – bit delayed outlining the amendments because this happened…
Fun part about all of this is, it’s all gone back to normal very quickly. Proceedings in the House of Commons chamber are extraordinary enough, it seems.
Brings a new meaning to “public gallery”, anyways.
Seán Murray here, and I’ll be covering the rest of the goings on this evening.
But first, here’s former Labour leader Ed Miliband’s reaction to the naked people in the public gallery.
Back to the indicative votes and, as you may know, we’ve been here before.
There were eight – EIGHT! – Brexit options put to MPs last Wednesday.
MPs voted against all of them.
Motion E to be debated tonight – a confirmatory public vote – received the most support last time. It lost by 268 votes to 295.
Versions of the other three were also voted on last week, but defeated.
The indicative votes don’t get under way until 8pm, but MPs have been debating for some time now – when not being distracted by naked protesters.
Conservative Nick Boles has put forward the motion on Common Market 2.0 – which is essentially a soft Brexit.
Labour are said to be supporting it, but it’s unlikely to get enough Conservative votes to pass.
Here’s what Boles has been saying in the Commons: “Our constituents don’t send us here for an easy ride.
“Constructing a compromise isn’t easy. Nor is realising that you might not get everything you want.”
Joanna Cherry – a Scottish National Party MP putting forward the ‘revoke Article 50′ motion – has also been having her say.
She says that members from every other party – with the exception of the DUP – are supporting her motion.
It’s not in the interest of Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland for their economies to “go down because of no deal,” she says.
“It will be the jobs of ordinary, working class people who will go in a no-deal,” Cherry adds.
The people who stripped off in the House of Commons are called Extinction Rebellion.
In a series of post on Twitter, they say they stripped off to call attention to the “elephant in the room – climate and ecological crisis”.
In a press release, it says the action will take place just two weeks before the “International Rebellion beginning on Monday 15 April which is set to shut down central London for days on end”.
They’re also going on a radio show I didn’t know Eamonn Holmes had in the next few minutes. I’ll put the kettle on.
It’ll take an awful lot to beat my favourite Holmes interview.
“Nakedness in the House of Commons, I kid you not,” Holmes begins.
One ear into this, and one into the House of Commons…
Back to Nick Boles, he tried his very best to ignore the naked protesters.
“It has long been a thoroughly British trait to be able to ignore pointless nakedness,” he told the House of Commons.
That Eamonn Holmes interview didn’t shed much more light than what we already know about the protesters (more on that here).
The Met Police have said that 12 people have been arrested.
In the House of Commons, Speaker John Bercow has said 40 MPs have requested time to speak in the debate.
With the debate ending at 8pm, they won’t all get time he says.
Comments are coming thick and fast from various MPs now.
Conservative Huw Merriman said he’s given up on parliament giving a majority for what he wants. He says he’ll support a people’s vote because parliament is “unable to find a majority”.
Labour’s Margaret Beckett has a similar take. She says people should get another to chance to vote on “what’s before them, rather than the fantasies they were spun”.
Theresa May’s government is letting her MPs have a free vote – but her ministers will abstain on the motions this evening.
Still backing May’s deal is Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
He says that one of the options on the table this evening – a customs’ union with the EU – would put Britain in a “straitjacket”.
Conservative Caroline Spelman speaking now, and she’s talking about how businesses are left in limbo over when Brexit will happen, and what kind it will be.
“We cannot keep marching to the top of the cliff,” Spelman says.
She then draws laughter from the house when she says brisket instead of Brexit. “I had a go at cooking that yesterday, Mr Speaker,” she jokes.
She says she’ll support a customs union, but not a no-deal brisket.
CSI Westminster.
Barry Sheerman, Labour MP for Huddersfield, talking about former politicians who fought in World War II.
He says those men and women were proud Europeans because they saw the horror the war brought.
“We should honour them,” he says. Sheerman says we should never go back to the divisiveness of the past.
He says former Labour divisions going back to the time of Clement Attlee mirror the divisiveness in the Conservatives today.
Quite the history lesson in Westminster today.
To the point, he says he’ll support all four amendments.
“We’re at a bitter and toxic period in the house,” he says. “In all my 40 years in parliament, I’ve never seen such nastiness.”
Now we’re hearing from the party front benches.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay speaking first.
He says the government has to deliver the referendum result, and defends the Prime Minister for her reputation of “not compromising”.
Former Tory – but now Independent Group member – Anna Soubry isn’t impressed. She says May didn’t reach out to those who accepted the referendum and wanted to find the best way forward.
Important to remember – no matter the result of the indicative votes tonight, Theresa May is not obliged to act on them.
She’s free to ignore calls for a second vote – even if parliament votes by a majority for it.
However, given that up to now parliament has been unable to decide on anything, if they finally backed something, she’d be under incredible pressure to act on that.
But, again, that comes with difficulties.
Crispin Blunt told Sky News that if May u-turned and backed a customs union, for example, he’d consider voting against his own government in a confidence motion.
Back to Barclay in the Commons, and he’s said he is not one of the 170 Conservative MPs who are reported to have sent a letter urging May to not take a no-deal off the table.
The Brexit Secretary said he hasn’t signed the letter, and tells the Prime Minister what he thinks of things when he sees her.
Labour’s shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer opts for a different take from Barclay.
He says MPs must now “break the deadlock” and support options other than their first preference for Brexit to reach some breakthrough.
But will that happen this evening?
“Any deal in this parliament will require further democratic approval,” Starmer says.
Labour wants a second referendum – to put to the people what’s on the table.
Ed Miliband has responded to how his reaction to the semi-naked protesters is being received on social media.
He opts for a simple message. The eyes/ayes have it etc.
Strong speech just there from Conservative MP for Wantage Ed Vaizey.
“We cannot be taken in by these absurd arguments,” he says of those MPs who call for a no-deal.
“The fact is that too many of our colleagues have decided that they are the self-appointed interpreters of Brexit and that anything that gets in their way must be stopped.”
Plaid Cymru – the Welsh party with 4 MPs – is backing a people’s vote.
Hywel Williams says staying in the EU is the best for Wales, and also calls for a “meaningful extension” to Article 50.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has written to MPs ahead of the vote tonight.
He begins the letter by thanking for their support “as we seek to deal with the Tory Brexit shambles”.
Supporting amendments tonight will help “break the deadlock”. Lots of similar chatter being echoed by MPs tonight.
Just over a half hour until all the votes begin…
Breaking ranks among senior Conservatives?
Sky News are reporting that Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood – not a Cabinet minister it must be pointed out – is backing a customs union option.
Here’s a reminder on what’s being voted on this evening.
Seems to be some support for C and D – certainly more than last week when they were defeated.
Again, they’re not binding on May to follow the will of parliament if there’s a majority for any of these – but it will make things a lot trickier for her.
Here’s what Ellwood told Channel 4 on his decision to back a customs union:
“When you put your deal through three times and colleagues and others have not supported it, but you still want to honour the referendum result itself and you still want to get out of Europe, then something small has to give.
“In this case it probably is going to end up being the customs union.”
Various MPs are having their say now, but how does Speaker John Bercow select who out of the 600+ will get a chance to have their say?
It takes three minutes to explain. And he doesn’t even say “order”. But it is interesting.
Here’s the DUP’s Sammy Wilson now.
“Tonight we will not be supporting any of these arrangements,” he says.
None of them protect the union or deliver on Brexit, according to Wilson.
Wrapping up here in the next few minutes before the votes get underway.
It’s still sparsely populated in the House of Commons chamber, but that should change soon.
“We all need to hold our noses about things we’re concerned about,” says Labour’s Lucy Powell.
She echoes many of the calls for compromise.
Voting in five minutes…
The DUP won’t simply vote against the motions, they’re refusing to vote at all according to the Times’ Sam Coates.
Back and forth now again and again.
“Let’s have a second referendum” “Let’s not”.
“Let’s have a compromise”, etc etc.
And… here we go.
Speaker John Bercow is up.
The vote will last 30 minutes. He goes through the procedures.
“A member cannot vote aye and no to the same motion,” he says. “It won’t be counted.”
Probably worth saying at this stage tbh.
The results will be announced as soon as it’s ready.
“Order. Order,” he closes, rather meekly it must be said.
The voting is under way, but how would you cast your ballot if you were unlucky enough to have a seat in the House of Commons?
TheJournal.ie’s Daragh Brophy has just posted this handy ‘player rating’ style piece – it explains the four motions and allows you to rate them all on a scale of one to ten.
Compare your own take on what’s on offer to our readers’ rating…
Minutes of fun, guaranteed.
So what are MPs voting on?
(C) Customs Union
The veteran Tory MP’s motion would instruct the government to ensure “that any Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration negotiated with the EU must include, as a minimum, a commitment to negotiate a permanent and comprehensive UK-wide customs union with the EU”.
(D) Common Market 2.0
The pro-EU Tory wants the UK to join the European Free Trade Association (Efta) and enter the European Economic Area (EEA) and for a deal to allow continued participation in the single market and a “comprehensive customs arrangement” with the EU. There’s quite a bit to this one, in fact – more details here.
(E) Confirmatory Public Vote
The Labour MP’s bill would put any Brexit deal passed by parliament to the people before ratification.
(G) Revoke Article 50 if faced with no-deal Brexit
This motion from the SNP MP says that if there is no deal by 10 April an extension should be sought. If no extension is granted by the EU, it mandates the government to put a vote on no-deal to the House of Commons. If no-deal is rejected, the government would be compelled to revoke Article 50 (which it can do unilaterally).
And when can we expect a result?
Well the votes take half an hour and then have to be counted.
The indications from Westminster could be that it’ll be in around 10pm-10.30pm.
Liberal Democrat Layla Moran has tweeted her ballot paper.
“I can’t in good conscience vote for any kind of Brexit but neither do I want a No Deal so that’s the compromise position I’ve taken,” she says.
ITV’s Robert Peston is predicting that parliament will back a customs union tonight.
But lot of Tories have written to May urging her to deliver a “managed” no-deal Brexit.
“So if PM backs the will of parliament on Brexit, she starts a civil war and probable breakup of her party,” he says.
Can we see a Conservative Prime Minister doing that?
A tiny procedural thing, but we could have been delayed a bit further as there actually was some other business due to be discussed in the House of Commons before the result.
The government has decided not to move any of these discussions for debate, but still expecting the result after 10pm.
News coming from Downing Street tonight paints a bleak picture for the Prime Minister.
Sources have told the Guardian of a “desperate mood” at Number 10 as May and her advisers consider a snap general election as the way out of this mess.
BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has us covered for the latest Tory banter.
Earlier today, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt urged MPs to “find a compromise and stop this chaos”.
“This evening, for once voting ‘Yes’, instead of every time voting ‘No’,” he said.
Verhofstadt also said that Brexit is not a “bad April Fool’s joke”.
Some Conservatives saying they voted against all the options this evening because it goes against the party’s manifesto.
Andrew Bridgen saying just that to Sky News just now.
James Heappey tweeting the same.
Tonight’s motions aren’t impressing those in favour of a no-deal anyway.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen on Sky News repeating the “vassal state” line about the UK’s future relationship with the EU, and says it can’t happen.
He says he won’t back a fourth vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement – which she is reportedly going to try again this week.
Bridgen threw a cat among the pigeons at the end of his interview with Sky there.
He said that – yes, Theresa May could bring back the withdrawal agreement a FOURTH time – but make the meaningful vote also a confidence one.
So if May lost, then she’d lose her grip on government and there’d most likely have to be a general election.
So many Conservatives have refused to back her, and it could be May’s last gambit to threaten an election and a Corbyn government if they don’t support her.
Unlikely at this stage, one would imagine.
While we’re waiting, all the journalists in the House of Commons are watching either the Arsenal/Newcastle game or a Brexit documentary.
Arsenal winning 1-0 with 10 mins left, btw.
We’re with you, Gav.
Lib Dem leader Vince Cable has been speaking.
He’s told Sky News that he can’t vote for anything without a people’s vote.
“We’re in a bad place,” he said. “I doubt parliament will be able to resolve it.”
He’s also indicating that May be considering a second referendum. What’s going on?
Oh. So the DUP did vote against everything on the table, according to the Financial Times.
Labour is whipping its MPs to back the common market 2.0 tonight, after it lost last week.
Perceived as a softer Brexit, here’s a summary from the Guardian on the main changes in the customs union being voted on tonight, and the one from last week.
The division bells have rung in the House of Commons.
The results will be announced in 10 minutes.
Five mins to go…
“Order, Order.”
Here we go.
Speaker John Bercow is up.
(C) Customs Union – Ayes 273, Nos 276
(D) Common Market – Ayes 261, Nos 282
(E) Second Referendum – Ayes 280, Nos 292
(G) Revoke Article 50 – Ayes 191, Nos 292
It’s a No to everything. Again!
Very slim majorities there, especially for a Customs Union.
The majority was just 3.
Stephen Barclay, Brexit secretary, says there’s still no majority for anything from MPs and reiterates that MPs can avoid a no-deal and avoid European elections by voting for May’s withdrawal agreement.
Jeremy Corbyn says if it’s good enough for the Prime Minister to have three votes on her deal, then parliament should get a third go at these votes again.
Ian Blackford, from the SNP, is fuming. He says the votes from Scotland are being disrespected. He hints at a second push for a Scottish independence referendum. “The day is coming,” he says.
Angry reaction from Nick Boles, who put forward the proposal for Common Market 2.0.
Apparently he walked right out of the chamber in fury.
He’s due to speak to Sky News in a second.
He’s quit the Conservative party altogether, it seems.
Sums it all up, really. Compromise again proves elusive in Westminster.
Ken Clarke, whose own motion on a customs union was very, very narrowly defeated, tells the Commons: “We cannot go on with everyone voting against every proposal.”
That was fairly dramatic when Boles walked out the chamber, quitting the Conservative party on the spot it appears.
So… what happens now?
Theresa May will meet her Cabinet tomorrow as she plots her next move.
There’s no telling what will come from that, but the Prime Minister will surely try to find some way to bring forward her withdrawal agreement for a fourth time.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will meet French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow where they’ll discuss what’s happening. And Varadkar will also meet Angela Merkel this week as the UK remains at its current Brexit impasse.
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