Brexit: what is a free vote and why is Theresa May allowing one?
Labour claims prime minister ‘has given up any pretence of leading the country’

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Tory MPs will get a free vote on a no-deal Brexit this evening.
Struggling with a sore throat, after a tough week in which her withdrawal deal was rejected for a second time by MPs, Theresa May today said she would be voting to rule out a no-deal exit on 29 March.
But Conservative ministers and MPs will be allowed to make up their own minds, “an unusual move for a vote on a major policy”, says the BBC.
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.
So what is a free vote?
Each party appoints whips, whose job is to make sure the maximum number of MPs or lords vote in the Houses of Parliament - and vote the way that the party wants. Their job is even more important if the majority of the party in power is small, as with the current Tory government. A free vote, or unwhipped vote, is therefore one in which “MPs or members of the Lords are not put under pressure to vote a certain way by their party leaders”, explains Parliament.uk.
Why is today’s free vote unusual?
As a rule, free votes may be allowed for internal Commons decisions and for ethical issues that are seen as a matter of conscience, such as same-sex marriage, but rarely for issues “seen as central to political life”, says Philip Cowley, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
In an article for The Times, he writes that today’s vote falls squarely into a third category - “issues where a free vote will get a party out of a hole”.
“To have whipped either for or against no deal would have provoked cabinet and other ministerial resignations. That is where its importance lies,” Cowley says.
A Labour Party spokesperson claimed the move shows that May “has given up any pretence of leading the country”.
Indeed, The Daily Telegraph adds: “While it is unlikely to change the overall result of the vote, with MPs expected to reject no deal, it is a sign of the prime minister’s diminished position.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Microscopic items
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
The daily gossip: Chevy Chase says 'Community' wasn't 'funny enough' for him, Golden Globes to add a category for blockbuster movies, and more
The daily gossip: September 26, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Equality
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is it time the world re-evaluated the rules on migration?
Today's Big Question Home Secretary Suella Braverman questions whether 1951 UN Refugee Convention is 'fit for our modern age'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak's tree code: what is the PM's election strategy?
Today's Big Question Conservative leader lining up major policy announcements in bid to rebrand as 'change' candidate
By Elliott Goat Published
-
Will Rishi Sunak's green wedge issue win over the public?
Today's Big Question The PM draws dividing line with Labour on net zero ahead of the next general election
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Industry backlash as Sunak set to water down green pledges
Speed Read Automotive and energy bosses look for clarity after PM backs away from UK net zero goal
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
October by-elections: what's at stake for Labour, Lib Dems and Tories
Parties will contest two former safe Tory seats on 19 October, putting pressure on Rishi Sunak
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Would Keir Starmer get a better Brexit deal?
Today's big question Labour leader must overcome fact that European capitals 'consider Brexit yesterday's problem'
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
The Abuse of Power by Theresa May review
Talking Point This 'serious book by a serious woman' hardly counts as a memoir at all
By The Week Staff Published
-
Jobs for the boys: does the UK need a minister for men?
Conservative MP calls for dedicated cabinet role to combat 'crisis' in men's mental health and education
By Harriet Marsden Published