Labour-led bid to block no-deal Brexit is defeated
Likelihood of no-confidence vote in government increases after outcome
MPs have rejected a bid to take control of Parliament’s timetable, blocking the latest attempt to stop a no-deal Brexit.
Labour spearheaded the move, which would have given opponents of a no-deal Brexit the chance to table legislation to prevent the UK leaving without any agreement on the 31 October deadline. It was rejected by 309 votes to 298.
Sky News says the outcome means the government has “survived an attempt by the opposition to seize control of the House of Commons agenda”, while The Guardian says it hands Tory leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson “a boost”. The former foreign secretary has insisted that the UK must leave the EU by the end of October with or without a deal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The result was greeted with cheers from the Tory benches, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was apparently heard telling Tory MPs: “You won’t be cheering in September.”
Ten Conservative MPs rebelled against the government by backing the motion. Eight Labour MPs - mostly Brexiteers or MPs for constituencies that voted Leave at the 2016 referendum – also rebelled against their party by voting against the motion.
Later, Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said: “This is a disappointing, narrow defeat.”
But he added “this is just the start, not the end of our efforts to block no deal” and “any Tory leadership candidate should know that parliament will continue to fight against no deal”.
Former Tory minister Sir Oliver Letwin, who voted for the motion, argued that making sure the Commons had a “decisive vote” on the Brexit plan ahead of the 31 October deadline was bigger than party politics.
He warned that it was “perfectly possible” for the next PM to usher in a no-deal exit by “simply doing nothing” at all. Another Tory, the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, said the motion was the “last sensible opportunity” to stop no deal.
However, the longstanding Tory Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash described it as a “phantom motion” which paved the way for “government by Parliament”.
MP Nick Boles, who resigned from the Tory party earlier this year, said: “No-deal Brexit on 31 October is back to being a racing certainty. It is very hard to see where any further legislative opportunities will come from.”
He added that a no-confidence vote to bring down the government is one option, saying: “So it’s now a question of politics – specifically whether a PM pursuing a no-deal Brexit can command and sustain the confidence of the House of Commons.”
The Guardian says for those who want to stop a no-deal Brexit, “it looks as though the only remaining option is likely to be the most explosive one – bringing down the government”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The controversy over rewilding in the UK
The Explainer 'Irresponsible and illegal' release of four lynxes into Scottish Highlands 'entirely counterproductive' say conservationists
By The Week UK Published
-
How to decide on the right student loan repayment plan
The explainer President-elect Donald Trump seems unlikely to approve more student loan forgiveness, so you may want to consider other options
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: January 15, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
How could AI-powered government change the UK?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer unveils new action plan to make Britain 'world leader' in artificial intelligence
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
How should Westminster handle Elon Musk?
Today's Big Question Musk's about-face on Nigel Farage demonstrates that he is a 'precarious' ally, but his influence on the Trump White House makes fending off his attacks a delicate business
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
New Year's Honours: why the controversy?
Today's Big Question London Mayor Sadiq Khan and England men's football manager Gareth Southgate have both received a knighthood despite debatable records
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Starmer's Brexit reset work?
Today's Big Question PM will have to tread a fine line to keep Leavers on side as leaks suggest EU's 'tough red lines' in trade talks next year
By The Week UK Published
-
Labour's plan for change: is Keir Starmer pulling a Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question New 'Plan for Change' calls to mind former PM's much maligned 'five priorities'
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published