The Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered a devastating defeat in the House of Commons on her proposed Brexit withdrawal bill, with the crucial piece of legislation being voted down by a record-breaking margin of MPs.
The government’s bill was voted down by a staggering margin of 230 MPs, with 432 – including over 100 of her own MPs – voting against, and just 202 voting for.
The huge defeat consigns Theresa May’s government to the history books, having just suffered the biggest loss of any sitting UK government ever.
Just 196 Tory MPs voted in favour of the bill, whilst a staggering 118 voted against their own government.
Furthermore, all 10 DUP MPs rebelled against their own Confidence and Supply arrangement with the government to vote against Mrs May’s Brexit bill.
In contrast, just 3 Labour MPs – Ian Austin, John Mann and Kevin Barron – voted in favour of the bill, with 248 voting against.
Responding to the defeat, Theresa May refused to resign, but said that if Labour were to table a Vote of No Confidence, the government would allow time for it to be debated tomorrow.
The Prime Minister also attempted to reassure MPs that her government would not try and run down the clock and consign the UK to a No Deal Brexit.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn responded by calling the government’s defeat “catastrophic” and, as expected, tabled a motion of no confidence in the government.
And, raising a point of Order following the defeat, the former Labour frontbencher Yvette Cooper demanded the government extend Article 50 to ensure that the UK did not crash out of the EU without a deal.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, responded by urging “the United Kingdom to clarify its intentions as soon as possible” adding that “Time is almost up.“
