Brexit: Theresa May sees off Tory rebellion over 'meaningful vote' - as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has won a crunch Commons vote on a key area of Brexit policy after Tory rebels fell into line at the last minute.
Pro-EU Conservatives had threatened to rebel to ensure parliament is given a greater say in the case of a no-deal Brexit, but their ringleader, Dominic Grieve, voted against his own amendment after declaring himself satisfied with the assurances he had been given by ministers.
With the vote thought to be too close to call, MPs who were heavily pregnant were forced to traipse through the division lobbies. Others who have been ill, including Labour's Naz Shah, also had to drag themselves to the Commons after the government refused to honour a convention that unwell MPs can be counted in the Palace of Westminster car park.
Earlier, Ms May clashed with Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs over her announcement of more funding for the NHS, with the Labour leader claiming the prime minister's figures were “so dodgy they belong on the side of a bus”.
As it happened...
David Davis says the government's amendment will establish a "formal structure, set out in law, for Parliament to express its view on all the scenarios that might come to pass".
He says the EU slows down negotiations every time it believes UK confusion or parliamentary tensions might weaken Britain's hand.
"We cannot allow such an approach to become commonplace across all negotiations," he says.
Tory rebels seem to be stepping into line one-by-one... Here Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary, confirms she will back the government.
Keir Starmer, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, says divisions in the Conservative Party are the biggest threat to an orderly Brexit.
Dominic Grieve is now speaking. He says Theresa May promised to meet Tory backbenchers’ concerns about Parliament not having a meaningful vote in the case of a no-deal Brexit.
He says it was “unfortunate” that ministers reneged on the compromise deal they agreed with him last week.
Dominic Grieve says the government’s proposals would rely entirely on Commons Speaker John Bercow interpreting what rights Parliament should have if no Brexit deal is agreed.
He says failure to secure a deal would ne “one of the biggest political crises in modern British history”.
And there we go. Dominic Grieve caves in, saying he is happy to support the government’s amendment. It looks like he will still allow MPs to vote on his amendment, but he seems to be willing to step into line having secured, he says, confirmation from ministers that they accept Parliament is sovereign over the executive.
Why did Dominic Grieve back down? No one is entirely sure. He suggested he had received enough assurances from ministers about the supremacy of Parliament over the government, but the government’s position has not significantly changed in recent days. It’s a big win for No 10 and the Conservative whips, but Mr Grieve and his allies are likely to face questions as to they again caved in at the last minute.
Hillary Benn, chair of the Commons Brexit committee, says Dominic Grieve should be “very, very cautious” about accepting ministers’ assurances given he received similar guarantees last week, before the government backed away from the compromise deal agreed with potential rebels.
Benn says the government's policy throughout negotiations has been to try to "neuter this House when we come to the end of the process".
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