The attempt to secure a “meaningful vote” that potentially could have given MPs the power to stop Britain leaving the EU without a deal has been defeated.
The final obstacle to the EU withdrawal bill was removed as MPs voted 303 to 319 against an amendment that had been tabled by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve – before he accepted government reassurances about its respect for the power of MPs to hold it to account.
At least six Tory rebels – Ken Clarke, Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Antoinette Sandbach, and Philip Lee who resigned last week to vote against the government – held out against the compromise that Labour MPs dismissed as meaningless.
Grieve was accused by one angry Labour backbencher of behaving like the Grand old Duke of York. “You can’t keep marching the troops up the hill and down again and keep your integrity,” George Howarth said.
The bill is expected to be on the statute book within days.
After the vote Grieve said: “We’ve managed to reach a compromise without breaking the government – and I think some people don’t realise we were getting quite close to that. I completely respect the view of my colleagues who disagree, but if we can compromise we can achieve more.”
Amid a welter of procedural technicalities about the powers of MPs and the potential role of the judges, Grieve – who had said he woke up in the small hours worrying that his actions would cause the government’s collapse – withdrew his support for his own amendment.
As part of the process, David Davis, the Brexit secretary, tabled a written statement recognising the authority of MPs to hold the government to account, and saying that it would be for the Speaker to decide at the time whether any government motion could be amended. The government proposal would have ruled out amendment altogether.
Labour protested that the concession was meaningless, and other Tory rebels were unconvinced.
Sandbach, said the amendment could not bind the government’s hands because negotiations would be over by the time MPs were voting.
“Not to have a process in place should negotiations collapse would be irresponsible. And what is more, this amendment will ensure that when the PM sits down to negotiate, she does so with the full backing of parliament. Far from binding the prime minister, it strengthens her hand.”
By averting the rebellion rather than outvoting the Tory rebels, their support on major issues such as membership of a customs union or the single market remains untested.
Brexiters had wanted to see the rebels defeated to strengthen the government’s hand in future debates. Wollaston described the moment as “a battle for the soul of Brexit”.
GULF TIMES
