Brexit: Theresa May wins MPs’ support for new talks on backstop

Theresa May wins backing from MPs to try to reopen EU talks on the backstop but Donald Tusk insists the deal ‘isn’t open for renegotiation’.

Theresa May at the dispatch box earlier today. Picture: AFP.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been given a clear signal from Westminster to seek alternative arrangements to the contentious Irish backstop in fresh talks with the European Union - if Brussels agrees to reopen the withdrawal agreement.

In a change of tone for Mrs May, who had suffered a humiliating defeat of her EU withdrawal agreement a fortnight ago, the House of Commons this morning backed an amendment that supports the withdrawal agreement if the Irish backstop is replaced with alternative arrangements.

The amendment, tabled by backbench Tory leader Sir Graham Brady was passed 317 to 301, after Tory eurosceptics fell in behind Mrs May’s pleas to allow her another shot at changing the withdrawal deal.

The amendment reads: “At end, add ‘and requires the Northern Ireland backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border; supports leaving the European Union with a deal and would therefore support the withdrawal agreement subject to this change’.”

However the EU was sticking to the predetermined position expressed before the vote by French president Emmanuel Macron that the withdrawal agreement was not open for re-negotiation.

A spokesperson for European Council president Donald Tusk immediately said: “We made it very clear the withdrawal agreement is not going to be reopened, the backstop is part of the withdrawal agreement’’.

The House of Commons also passed an amendment that the UK could not leave the EU without a deal, but this was non-binding. An earlier amendment posed by Labour’s Yvette Cooper that would have made extending Article 50 until he end of the year a legal requirement, and possibly opening up legislation for a second referendum, was narrowly defeated.

Only six Conservatives backed the Cooper amendment, but 14 Labour MPs crossed the floor, ensuring the bill was defeated and exposing stark divisions in the Labour ranks.

A relieved Mrs May said: “It is now clear there is a route to achieve a substantial and sustainable majority in this House for leaving the EU with a deal, we take this mandate to seek legally binding changes that deal with changes on backstop and with no hard borders in Ireland.’’

She added that there was “limited appetite’’ in the EU for such changes and that the negotiations would not be easy, but expressed relief that the House had shown the EU what was needed for the withdrawal agreement to pass.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has agreed to further talks with Mrs May, raising the possibility of cross- party support to help get any new deal with the EU through the parliament.

However there was a feisty response to the Westminster developments, with the Scottish nationalist Ian Blackford accusing the Tory government of “ripping apart’’ and “discarding’’ the Good Friday agreement.

Democratic Unionist Party politician Nigel Dodds, who along with the other nine DUP MPs helped Mrs May defeat Labour amendments, said it was outrageous to say the vote was driving a coach and horses through the Good Friday agreement.

He said: ’’It is utterly reckless to talk in those terms. The fact is no one in Northern Ireland is advocating a hard border in Ireland and we do not advocate creating borders in the United Kingdom. This is a significant night; for the first time the House, by a majority, has expressed what sort of deal will have a majority for and we will work with the Prime Minister to bring the right deal for the United Kingdom.’’

Brexiteer and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the EU had the incentive to give the UK what it wants and there would be plenty of alternatives if the EU failed to allow the changes that parliament requires.

He said: “The Prime Minister can go to Brussels to get the freedom clause that she needs. It takes two to tango, believe me, the EU has every incentive to give us the deal we need.’’

Here’s how the amendments were voted on

Tusk: no renegotiation

EU president Donald Tusk has standing firm on the Irish backstop, declaring minutes after MPs passed the Brady amendment that the Withdrawal Agreement “is not open for renegotiation.”

A spokesman for Mr Tusk said: “The Withdrawal Agreement is and remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

“The backstop is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation.”

May wins MPs’ backing over backstop

The Brady amendment, has passed 317 to 301. This crucial amendment, backed by Theresa May, says the House supports Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement if the backstop is replaced with an alternative agreement.

This means the PM will now go back to Brussels to try to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, although Emmanuel Macron said today the deal as it stands is the best possible and ”it is not re-negotiable.”

Mrs May said there was now a “clear” path to a “substantial and sustainable majority” for a version of her Brexit deal

MPs reject leaving EU without deal

Westminister has both sent a clear message to the European Union and repositioned Mrs May’s future negotiating position after MPs voted to reject leaving the EU without a deal.

The amendment, posed by Caroline Spelman, is non-binding and also not surprising as the parliament was known to be heavily skewed against a no-deal.

Ms Spelman’s amendment was passed 318 to 310. But now that parliament’s view has been so clearly expressed - even in a non-legal way - it could impact on Mrs May’s dealings with the EU.

All eyes are now on the Brady amendment, which was heavily backed by Mrs May, who has called for strong support so she can go to Brussels with a strong hand to try and reopen the withdrawal agreement.

Greater chance of no deal

Political analysts believe that the Cooper amendment may have passed by one or two votes, if not for more than a dozen Labour rebels who either voted against the amendment, or abstained.

The close result amid a small rebellion has opened up divisions within the Labour Party, highlighting the thinking of some Labour MPs in the north of the country who represent pro-Brexit seats.

Furious Labour MP Chukka Ummuna told Sky News that the defeat of both the Grieve and Cooper amendments was deeply worrying. He believed the moves have increased the odds of the country crashing out with no deal.

He said: “It has robbed parliament of the opportunity to give parliament a white canvas. This government has been taken hostage by the right wing of the party, I am really angry about this, it’s about jobs and the livelihoods.’’

Reeve’s amendment fails

MPs have voted against Rachel Reeves amendment seeking to extend Article 50 by two years if no deal is approved is defeated 322 to 290.

MPs vote against extending Article 50

Mrs May can breathe a sigh of relief after a potentially catastrophic amendment seeking to defer Brexit until the end of the year was defeated.

The amendment, tabled by Labour’s Yvette Cooper could have brought about a dramatic change in Brexit - leading to it being possibly permanently deferred, or even cancelled. This was because the legislative change which the amendment called for, also allowed for associated amendments to be introduced into law.

But the Cooper amendment was defeated after arch-Brexiteers fell in behind Mrs May. The amendment was rejected 321 to 298.

There is a suggestion that parliamentarians wanting to register not leaving the EU without a deal will swing behind the Carol Spelman amendment. Ms Spelman’s amendment is non-binding declaring that the House doesn’t want to leave with a no-deal, as opposed to the Cooper amendment, which was to have been introduced as legislation.

Narrow loss for Grieve amendment

Amendment G, which is one of the more contentious amendments tabled by the senior Tory politician and barrister Dominic Grieve, was heavily supported by Labour. But it was rejected by a majority of 20, with 321 voting against it and 301 voting for it.

Is this the night the second referendum idea died? Grieve amendment provided a route to a vote on a second referendum but it failed. Corbyn amendment, also proposing debate on second referendum, was defeated too.

— Gordon Rayner (@gordonrayner) January 29, 2019

In his speech earlier today Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn even praised the work of Mr Grieve, who has gone from being a Tory grandee to an arch rebel frustrating the government’s intentions.

Mr Grieve’s amendment was designed to give space for the House of Commons to find where the majority lies. It would have allowed six full sitting days to allow debate and indicative non binding votes on various Brexit options to see which options might pass through the House.

Next up is the significant amendment B fromsenior Labour MP Yvette Cooper, to extend Article 50 until the end of the year if a deal isn’t agreed by February 26..

SNP amendment trounced

The second amendment O, tabled by the Scottish Nationalist party Ian Blackford called for a no-deal Brexit and demanded that Scotland not be taken out of the EU against their will. It was heavily trounced, 327 to 39. The majority of 288 was no surprise as Labour abstained in this vote.

Next up is Amendment G, Dominic Grieve’ amendment seeking six days of debate to allow for indicative votes to see where the parliament majority lies in various Brexit options. This amendment is more likely to be passed.

Protesters gather outside parliament as amendments are voted on. Picture: AP.

Withdrawal agreement ‘not re-negotiable’

French president Emmanuel Macron has told reporters in Cyprus that the withdrawal agreement as it stands is the best possible and ”it is not re-negotiable.”

Mr Macron dismissed a possible re-negotiation with Mrs May saying that having the UK leaving the EU without a deal was not what anyone wanted but he warned ”we should all prepare for it’’.

MPs vote down Corbyn amendment

Amendment A, tabled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has been defeated largely along traditional party lines, 327 to 296.

Mr Corbyn had wanted the Government to set aside sufficient time in the House of Commons to debate and vote on a range of Brexit options to prevent a no-deal Brexit. The amendment would have enabled a vote on a soft Brexit deal with a customs union with the EU and also the possibility of a fresh referendum.

The next vote is on the SNP amendment to extend Article 50 and keep Scotland in the EU.

May U-turn on her own deal

British prime minister Theresa May has tabled her Plan B withdrawal plan, but in a last minute about turn, she now says she will return to Brussels and demand that the EU reopens negotiations to secure more concessions on the Irish backstop.

She told MPs she accepted legal changes would have to be made to the agreement for it to have any chance of being passed by parliament.

Mrs May has actively encouraged her Conservative government to support a crucial amendment put forward by the Tory backbench chairman Sir Graham Brady which calls for replacing the contentious backstop with “alternative arrangements” to avoid a hard border.

Mrs May urged her parliamentarians to overwhelmingly back the Brady amendment to send a clear message to Brussels about the direction in which parliament wants Brexit to head.

Mrs May has performed this U-turn in order to stave off a Tory revolt. She has vowed to try and extract legal changes to the withdrawal agreement — after earlier insisting such an approach was impossible — and is now promising the parliament a further vote on Brexit, with an amendable Meaningful Vote by February 14 at the latest.

In a particularly feisty hour at the dispatch box, Mrs May said: “What I’m talking about is not a further exchange of letters (with the EU) but a significant and legally binding change to the withdrawal agreement. Negotiating such a change will not be easy; it will involve reopening the withdrawal agreement — a move for which I know there is limited appetite among our European partners. But I believe that with a mandate from this House … I can secure such a change in advance of our departure from the EU.’’

However the European Union was planning to reject Mrs May’s overtures, even before the vote was held, saying they will not renegotiate the Brexit deal. But pressure is beginning to build on the continent as a no-deal Brexit looms larger and the EUs intractable position begins to look self-defeating.

Another amendment tabled by Labour’s Yvette Cooper is also significant as it appeals to Remainers and soft-Brexiteers and has Labour support. She has called for parliamentary time next week to adopt a law to extend Article 50 (the mechanism by which Britain leaves the EU) to the end of 2019 if Mrs May cannot secure a deal by late February.

The Democratic Unionist party member Nigel Dodds said the EU had to adopt a more constructive approach to the Irish backstop: “Now is the time for the EU to stop ignoring the voice of unionists. The EU negotiators must recognise that undermining the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom is neither reasonable nor acceptable. There are other ways to guarantee no hard border on the island of Ireland and its time for a more constructive approach by Brussels.’’

T he Brexit amendments will be tabled in the following order, with the letters designated by the Westminster system:

A: Labour: avoids a no deal but seeks a customs union with the EU.

O: SNP/Plaid Cymru: wants an extension of Article 50 and having no deal removed as an option.

G: Dominic Grieve: wants parliamentary time to allow for indicative votes to see where the parliament majority lies in various Brexit options.

B: Yvette Cooper: extends Article 50 until the end of the year.

J: Rachel Reeves: extends Article 50 for two years.

I: Caroline Spelman: the UK will not leave the EU without a deal

N: Graham Brady: replaces the Irish backstop with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border.