When the votes come thick and fast, it pays to have Commons experts on hand

I don’t think anyone can honestly say they were surprised when MPs voted to take the option of a no-deal Brexit off the table on Wednesday night. I doubt any eyebrows were raised when the prime minister’s deal was defeated for a second time the night before, either.

In fact, I imagine the results of most of the Brexit-related votes in the Commons over the past few weeks have been met with nothing more than a nonchalant shrug by those closely following Britain’s tumultuous departure from the EU.

Did we really expect Jeremy Corbyn’s no-confidence vote against the government to be successful? Not really.

Neither did we think Theresa May’s promise of securing concessions from the EU on her deal would amount to much.

Admittedly, the heaviest parliamentary defeat of a British PM in the democratic era was a bit more of an eye-opener, but in reality a major loss for May was a foregone conclusion.

In the newsroom, the collective insight of colleagues from various departments means we can be as prepared as possible for the moment the speaker announces the results. Recently, thanks to informed analysis and discernment, we have been able to draft a detailed story and publish it as soon as the results of the votes have been confirmed, which in turn means our readers are first to the news.

Of course it’s important not to forget that, much like the Brexit referendum back in June 2016, political shocks do happen but so far this year, touch wood, most of our predictions have been correct.

Perhaps the curious thing is, that despite all this passing as expected so far, we are now just over a fortnight from the day we are due to leave the EU and frankly, I still have no idea what’s going to happen. And I don’t think anyone else does either.

Bit of a scary thought, really.

Yours,

Will Kirby

Assistant news editor