Brexit debate live: MPs to vote to vote on EU nationals' status after Brexit
Theresa May said she wants the nationals' issue sorted out at the start of negotiations
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Your support makes all the difference.MPs are debating Brexit and will consider amendments about the fate of EU nationals in the UK after Brexit. They are also expected to approve what could be the last Commons hurdle of the Article 50 Bill – giving the Government the power to begin Brexit.
The latest updates are:
- MPs to vote on amendment to guarantee EU nationals' status
- Third reading vote also due this evening
- Senior Labour ally to Corbyn hints at quitting over Brexit vote
- Government 'dupes' MPs into clearing the way for hard Brexit
- Starmer says May 'won't dare' come back empty-handed
- Tory Brexit rebels hail ministers' climbdown
- Labour dismisses Corbyn quit date claims
The Government was last night accused of “conning” MPs into backing their plans for Brexit without offering them a meaningful vote on any deal to leave the European Union.
Tory rebels and Labour had been due to gang up in Parliament tonight in an attempt to force ministers to give MPs the power to send Theresa May back to the negotiating table if she fails to secure a good deal.
The Government headed off the rebellion by 326 votes to 293 after earlier promising that MPs would in fact be given a vote on the deal. Brexit minister David Jones had sought to satisfy would-be rebels by saying that MPs would be given a vote before negotiations were concluded and the final deal was put to the European Parliament.
The move was enough to stop wider scale backing for a Labour amendment calling for parliamentary approval of any new relationship with the EU.
But critics have suggested that parliament had been “duped” by the apparent concession.
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson confirmed to journalists at an official briefing that the Government had in fact not changed its position and was only offering a “take-it-or-leave-it” vote. The rejection of any deal at that stage would see the UK crash out of the EU and make it subject to World Trade Organisation rules – making it of no meaningful use to opponents of hard Brexit.
Clive Lewis has responded on Twitter to people comparing him to Johnny Marr, who quit The Smiths after rumours started circulating that the band's leadership wanted a split (perhaps a slightly tenuous Labour analogy).
As we've seen in the tweets above, the consensus on Twitter appears to be that Corbyn was strong on the issue of an alleged special council tax deal for Surrey, while May appeared caught out.
Jeremy Hunt was, according to shadow health minister Justin Madders, looking very red in the face as the exchanges played out. As well as being the Health Secretary, he's the MP for South West Surrey.
Labour's Liz Kendall asks May whether the "final vote" on Brexit was really a meaningful concession or "a con", given it will be a choice between the deal negotiated by the Government or no deal at all.
May says she is happy to reiterate the point made by David Davis in yesterday's debate, that there will be a vote on the final deal, a motion will be brought before both Houses and that it will be before the final deal has been concluded.
She said they expect that to come before a final European Parliament debate and vote on the agreement - in other words, the MPs' motion could inform the European Parliament proceedings.
Angela Eagle follows Owen Smith in pressing May on what falling back on WTO trade rules with the EU would mean for the British economy.
May says that as far as the Government is concerned, we believe it is possible to secure a new deal and "a strong strategic partnership with the EU in the future".
Surrey County Council leader David Hodge has insisted that the decision to scrap a 15% council tax rise "was ours alone and there has been no deal'' with the Government.
Jeremy Corbyn challenged Theresa May at Prime Minister's Questions with a series of leaked text messages from the council's leader, claiming ministers had offered a "sweetheart deal" to Surrey County Council.
David Hodge insisted there was no deal with ministers over the decision to abandon the 15% hike and replace it with a 4.99% rise.
He said: "Surrey's decision not to proceed with a 15% council tax increase was ours alone and there has been no deal between Surrey County Council and the Government.
"However, I am confident that the Government now understands the real pressures in adult social care and the need for a lasting solution."
The original plan for a 15% rise to help cover the cost of social care would have required a referendum, but it was abandoned on Tuesday.
The proposal was politically embarrassing for the Government because senior Tories including Chancellor Philip Hammond and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt have constituencies in Surrey.
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Corbyn produced a series of text messages from Mr Hodge which are understood to have been intended for Nick King, a special adviser to Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid.
Downing Street sources denied that the messages were intended for Mr King.
Mr Corbyn said: "These texts read 'I'm advised that DCLG officials have been working on a solution and you will be contacting me to agree a memorandum of understanding'."
He challenged ministers to "publish this memorandum of understanding and, while they're about it, will all councils be offered the same deal?"
A second text message read "the numbers you indicated are the numbers I understand are acceptable for me to accept and call off the R" - an apparent reference to the referendum.
Mr Corbyn added: "He goes on to say in his text to Nick 'If it is possible that info to be sent to myself I can then revert back soonest, really want to kill this off'.
"So how much did the Government offer Surrey to kill this off and is the same sweetheart deal on offer to every council facing the social care crisis created by (Mrs May's) Government?"
Mrs May stressed that all councils with responsibility for social care had the ability to raise council tax by an extra 3%.
She said of Mr Corbyn: "He comes to the despatch box making all sorts of claims. Yet again what we get from Labour is alternative facts; what they really need is an alternative leader."
PMQs is over and we're now covering the Brexit debate.
MPs will later vote on amendments about letting EU nationals stay in the UK after Brexit.
If the amendments aren't successful it's still likely EU nationals will be able to stay anyway, but the amendments would guarantee the nationals' future and give them certainty.
The Government says it wants to let EU nationals stay but that it will wait for negotiations and use them as a bargaining chip to get a better deal with British emirants.
At the end of the day there will be the third reading of the Brexit Bill – which could be the last vote in the Commons on Brexit. After that, there is the House of Lords stage – the Lords could send the bill back to the Commons, though.
One last thing from PMQs related to EU nationals: Tory MP Sarah Wollaston asked the Prime Minister whether EU nationals could stay.
"I'm not alone in hearing from families long-settled here in Britain who are deeply worried that they could be separated after we leave the European Union," she said.
Theresa May gave a bit more ground than usual on the subject.
She said she wanted the issue addressed at the start of negotiations.
When I trigger Article 50 I intend to make it clear that I want this to be a priority for an early stage of the negotiation so we can address this issue and give reassurance to the people concerned.
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