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As it happened – MPs vote for Brady's Brexit amendment to renegotiate backstop

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Commons also backs non-binding amendment to reject no-deal Brexit, as EU says withdrawal agreement is ‘not open for renegotiation’

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Tue 29 Jan 2019 21.57 ESTFirst published on Tue 29 Jan 2019 04.31 EST
Key events
Brexit highlights: parliament votes for amendment on replacing Irish backstop – video

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Summary

It’s been quite a day in Brexitland and it’s now time to wind down the blog for the night.

These are the main developments today:

It promises to be another dramatic fortnight in Westminster and beyond. Thanks for reading. A new blog is up and running here:

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Charles Grant, a long-term Brussels hand who heads the Centre for European Reform, has a sobering message for Brexiters tonight. He warns that the EU will indeed refuse to reopen talks on the backstop and highlights the gulf between what is on offer in Brussels and the kind of concessions the Brexiters now think they can win.

Having spent much of this week in Brussels, I have no doubt that the EU will refuse to reopen the withdrawal agreement/Irish backstop. EU leaders are alarmed that UK pols remain so ignorant of the EU position and the realities of Brexit. @CER_EU

— Charles Grant (@CER_Grant) January 29, 2019

And a timely reminder of how the mood around Brexit talks have changed a bit in the past two years. I’ve not heard much talk about the EU being crushed recently.

The front page of the Times two years ago. It’s been all downhill for the May City Rollers since then pic.twitter.com/9eDESD5f5f

— theshirtfactoryhorn (@shirtfactryhorn) January 29, 2019

An interesting snippet from the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn who reports that Theresa May’s capitulation to Tory hardliners was “total” and even includes their requests that she shakeup her Brexit negotiating team. He reports that she will welcome on board Julian Braithwaite, the UK’s permanent representative to the UN and WTO in Geneva, and Crawford Falconer, the chief trade negotiation adviser at the Department for International Trade. They are described as “two seasoned negotiators”, which does make you wonder why they weren’t in the team to begin with.

Excl: May’s capitulation to hardline Brexiteer demands was total - including a shake up of her negotiating team. Gavin Barwell promised it will now include UK’s rep to WTO Julian Braithwaite and DIT’s chief negotiator Crawford Falconer;https://t.co/ZwDPxQ4fqO

— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) January 29, 2019

There a more gossipy morsel on Twitter from the Times reporter Sam Coates who quotes a government source as saying they hope May is collecting air miles because “she won’t bring back much else” from Brussels.

A government source said of the next phase of brexit discussion:

“I hope the PM is collecting air miles, because she won’t come back with much else.”

Ouch

— Sam Coates Times (@SamCoatesTimes) January 29, 2019

Pound falls after Commons vote

Those of you who have been following all day will know that the pound dropped sharply in value after MPs passed the Brady amendment giving more time for May to recast her deal with Brussels.

After rising in value for a couple of weeks, it was trading at about $1.32 earlier in the day. But sterling has fallen to $1.3083 in the wake of the vote because investors reckon the chances of a no deal Brexit are now higher.

And while we’re on finance, futures trading for the FTSE100 shows it will be up 0.48% when trading starts in the UK morning. That’s probably because a falling pound is good news for the huge number of multinationals on the index that report profits in US dollars.

Our economics editor Larry Elliott has filed this story where you can read more about the foreign exchange movements.

Good morning/afternoon/evening wherever you might be following us. I’m Martin Farrer and I’m taking over the blogging reins from Kevin Rawlinson.

And following on from Kevin’s last post here are a few more front pages. We’ll start with the Sun, which declares “Backstop from the brink” in its splash headline. It says Theresa May now has the “wind in her sails” to go back to Brussels and demand changes to the Irish backstop. It was a double triumph, the paper says, because she also managed to defeat Yvette Cooper’s amendment to delay Brexit.

Sun front page, Wednesday 30 January Photograph: Supplied

The Metro has the puns working well with “Over to EU” as its headline. It says MPs have thrown the PM a “lifeline” by giving her another two weeks to renegotiate her Brexit deal.

#merseysidemetro, #Merseyside @MetroUK @MailMetroMedia
Wednesday's Merseyside Metro Newspaper front page. pic.twitter.com/I0o5gxPut6

— Merseyside Metro (@njohno2711) January 30, 2019

Here’s a look at the front pages of tomorrow’s papers.

The Guardian, the Financial Times and the Daily Mirror have similar takes on the Brexit news; noting that, while Parliament may want Theresa May to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, Brussels has said it will not be accommodating.

The Guardian front page, Wednesday 30 January 2019 | May goes back to Brussels but EU says: nothing has changed pic.twitter.com/BJXsfQ4L02

— The Guardian (@guardian) January 29, 2019

Wednesday’s Financial Times: May’s move to rewrite Brexit deal sets collision course with Brussels #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/6ppVr53tI0

— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) January 29, 2019

Wednesday’s Daily Mirror: May’s deal back from the dead .. for now #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/C84AWNgUvr

— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) January 29, 2019

The Times focuses on May’s success in uniting her party, though – like the three above – it notes the EU’s reticence to play along.

Wednesday’s Times: May unites Tories behind fresh talks with Brussels #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/kJdqYgz0Yq

— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) January 29, 2019

The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express have fewer reservations.

Wednesday’s The Daily Telegraph: May takes the Brexit battle back to Brussels #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/g5LX3ugt7N

— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) January 29, 2019

Wednesday’s Daily Mail: Theresa’s Triumph #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/z5GfFEbvog

— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) January 29, 2019

Wednesday’s @Daily_Express front page

She did it! Our indomitable PM unites party and receives mandate to return to EU with Parliament’s full weight behind her
… Now it’s up to EU #Brexit#tomorrowspaperstoday #frontpages pic.twitter.com/Szshw4Ec0z

— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) January 29, 2019

The Remain-supporting Conservative MP, Anna Soubry, has told the same programme she finds her “party drifting to the right”, adding:

We have had pitiful leadership both in my party and in the Labour party. People are not putting their country first and foremost, and I can quite assure you that people like me are absolutely putting the country and our constituents’ interests first.

Loyalty to your party in these circumstances should be absolutely way down the list, and it is for me. Then, as I observe my party and the way it is going, I despair. I despair at what is happening to our country.

Liz Truss, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has told BBC Newsnight it has been a “positive day” that has shown there is a majority for the prime minister’s deal, as long as some changes are made to the backstop.

That to me is a significant way forward. It means we can go back to the EU with a united view of what we want here in the UK.

She said Theresa May now has the mandate from the Commons to go back to Brussels and ask for something new, and that the ball is now in the court of the 27 member states.

The EU have to be flexible as well, they have asked us what would it take for the House of Commons to support this, we have shown that. But we are going to need to see some flexibility over the next few days.

The EU has insisted – both before the vote and after – that it does not consider the withdrawal agreement up for renegotiation.

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Following the same line as the rest of the European Union, the Irish government has reiterated its position that the terms of the UK’s exit are not up for renewed discussion. In a statement released after tonight’s votes, it said:

The EU position on the withdrawal agreement, including the backstop, is set out in the conclusions of the December meeting of the European Council. It has not changed. The withdrawal agreement is not open for re-negotiation.

The agreement is a carefully negotiated compromise, which balances the UK position on customs and the single market with avoiding a hard border and protecting the integrity of the EU customs union and single market.

The best way to ensure an orderly withdrawal is to ratify this agreement.

The statement also said changes could be made to the political declaration, the portion which sets out the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU, if the former was willing to change its red lines.

But the Irish government added it would continue with its contingency planning for all eventualities, including for a no-deal scenario.

Ireland’s deputy premier, Simon Coveney, tweeted:

Backstop was agreed by UK/EU as the insurance policy to avoid a hard border in all scenarios. We hope it will never be used, or be replaced quickly by a future relationship agreement. But it is necessary and tonight’s developments at Westminster do nothing to change this. #Brexit

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) January 29, 2019

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, places the blame for that squarely at Parliament’s door and believes the decision should be taken out of the hands of MPs.

Parliament has contradicted itself tonight. MPs were right to vote to reject a no-deal Brexit. But they also voted to send Theresa May back to Brussels to renegotiate the withdrawal deal, which the EU has already said they will not do – this is delaying the inevitable. In reality this makes the possibility of a no-deal Brexit more likely.

This shows, once again, that it’s time to take this out of politicians’ hands, and give the public the final say on Brexit – with the option to stay in the EU.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the People’s Vote campaign agrees. Alison McGovern, a Labour MP and a supporter of the group, has said:

Today, it became clear that Parliament will continue to be gridlocked and the only way forward now is a public vote.

The effect of this Brady amendment is open up another round of fantasy Brexit. It means the government will go back to Brussels yet again, telling the EU to rip up the withdrawal agreement and allow a transition period without a backstop. The EU says this can’t happen.

But, even if there was a last-minute concession by the EU on the backstop, with all the risks to peace in Ireland that would entail, this amendment ignores the fact that most MPs who voted against the prime minister’s deal have concerns that go way beyond the backstop.

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It has not escaped people’s notice that, until recently, Theresa May was saying the backstop had to form part of the withdrawal agreement. One of those people is the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, who has described the prime minister’s claim she can renegotiate the deal in the light of tonight’s votes as “staggering”.

With no new ideas and red lines firmly still in place, the UK government is simply running down the clock in a vain hope that their deal will pass. Today has lost us more crucial time and the UK government must take decisive action and act on the majority will of parliament to rule out no deal.

While May assured MPs she could go to Brussels armed with a mandate to reopen talks on the withdrawal agreement, the EU has already insisted no such negotiations will take place.

Welcome the UK Parliament's decision to reject a no-deal & the hope of cross-party talks on future relationship. We stand by Ireland & the Good Friday Agreement. There is no majority to re-open or dilute the Withdrawal Agreement in the @Europarl_EN including the backstop.

— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) January 29, 2019
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Andrew Sparrow
Andrew Sparrow

Labour Yvette Cooper and the Conservative Nick Boles have put out this statement about the defeat of the Cooper amendment.

Tonight MPs have voted to stop no-deal Brexit. We did not get enough support to ensure there could be a binding vote to avert no deal or require an extension of article 50 if needed. We remain deeply concerned that there is no safeguard in place to prevent a cliff edge in March 2019 if the prime minister does not get a deal agreed in time.

The prime minister promised a new meaningful vote on 13 Feb and a new amendable motion in the event that this motion is defeated or the government does not secure a new deal. But we are running out of time. She will need to reflect the Commons opposition to no deal. We will consider what amendments will be needed if at that point no progress has been made. We remain committed to ensuring that we don’t reach the cliff edge on 29 March without a deal.

  • Yvette Cooper suggests she might try again in February to get MPs to vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit.

That’s all from me for tonight.

My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is taking over now.

Labour and Tory MPs who rebelled in tonight's votes

Here are the lists of Labour and Conservative MPs who rebelled in tonight’s votes. I’ve taken them from the Press Association wires.

Labour amendment

There were two Labour rebels who voted against: Sir Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) and Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse).

Grieve amendment

There were 14 Labour rebels who voted against. They were: Ian Austin (Dudley North), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley), Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire), Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse), Caroline Flint (Don Valley), Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green), Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover), Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich), Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central), and Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton).

And there were 14 Conservative rebels who voted in favour. They were: Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Nick Boles (Grantham and Stamford), Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe), Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon), Justine Greening (Putney), Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield), Sam Gyimah (East Surrey), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Oliver Letwin (West Dorset), Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury), Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex), Anna Soubry (Broxtowe), Edward Vaizey (Wantage), and Sarah Wollaston (Totnes).

Cooper amendment

There were 14 Labour rebels who voted against: They were: Ian Austin (Dudley North), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley), Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire), Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse), Caroline Flint (Don Valley), Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green), Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover), Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich), Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central), and Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton).

And there were 17 Conservative rebels who voted in favour. They were: Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Nick Boles (Grantham and Stamford), Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe), Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon), George Freeman (Mid Norfolk), Justine Greening (Putney), Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield), Sam Gyimah (East Surrey), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Oliver Letwin (West Dorset), Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury), Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex), Anna Soubry (Broxtowe), John Stevenson (Carlisle), Edward Vaizey (Wantage), and Sarah Wollaston (Totnes).

Spelman amendment

There were 17 Conservative rebels who voted in favour. They were: Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Nick Boles (Grantham and Stamford), Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe), Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon), Justine Greening (Putney), Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield), Sam Gyimah (East Surrey), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford), Oliver Letwin (West Dorset), Mark Pawsey (Rugby), Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury), Anna Soubry (Broxtowe), Caroline Spelman (Meriden), Edward Vaizey (Wantage), and Sarah Wollaston (Totnes).

And there were three Labour rebels who voted against: Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), and Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton).

Brady amendment

There were seven Labour rebels who voted in favour. They were: Ian Austin (Dudley North), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley), Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse), Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Hall Green), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), John Mann (Bassetlaw), and Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton).

There were eight Conservative rebels who voted against. They were: Heidi Allen (South Cambridgeshire), Guto Bebb (Aberconwy), Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe), Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield), Phillip Lee (Bracknell), Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), Anna Soubry (Broxtowe), and Sarah Wollaston (Totnes).

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Brendan Boyle, a Democratic congressman of Irish heritage from Pennsylvania, has posed the killer question after tonight’s debate.

After agreeing to the Irish backstop, Theresa May’s government has now reneged on it. Why would anyone negotiate with her now? #Brexit

— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) January 29, 2019

'Another deeply frustrating day for British business,' says CBI

Business groups have been reacting to tonight’s votes. While they view the non-binding vote against a no-deal Brexit as a bonus, and are moderately relieved that there is now at least a Commons majority for something, overall they are still fairly gloomy.

Here are the key quotes.

From Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI:

This is another deeply frustrating day for British business. The never-ending parliamentary process limps on while the economic impact of no-deal planning accelerates.

The Brady amendment feels like a throw-of-the-dice. It won’t be worth the paper it is written on if it cannot be negotiated with the EU. Any renegotiation must happen quickly – succeed or fail fast.

From Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce:

Another day lost while the clock is ticking. Government and parliament are still going round in circles when businesses and the public urgently need answers.

The real-world result of Westminster’s interminable wrangling is market uncertainty, stockpiling, and the diversion of staff, money and investment. For every big-ticket business announcing high-profile Brexit-related decisions, there are many more quietly making the changes they need in order to safeguard their operations in the event of a disorderly Brexit. The net result of this displacement activity and uncertainty is slow but very real damage to the UK economy.

From Stephen Martin, director general of the Institute of Directors:

While it is something that MPs have managed to form a majority in any vote, the path ahead is still far from clear. The prime minister clearly faces a difficult task in winning a compromise on the backstop. However, if the choice is between trying to change the deal and leaving without one, business will have to hope the EU can be flexible and consider whether any legal changes at all could further clarify that the backstop is not a permanent fixture.

From Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses

By passing the Spelman-Dromey amendment, parliament has formally echoed the voice of small businesses that a no deal exit in 59 days’ time is not an option. The amendment does not have any force in law, so a no-deal Brexit on 29 March isn’t off the table yet. This vote cannot simply be a symbolic one, we need government and parliament redouble efforts to prevent it.

Small businesses are not ready, and the country is not ready for this scenario. Tonight has seen a small but significant step that shows parliament falling into line with the UK small business community, which is a small relief. However, we cannot lose sight of the reality that we are still no closer to securing a pro-business deal before 29 March.

From Huw Evans, director general of the Association of British Insurers:

While further delay does nothing to relieve the uncertainty hanging over the country, it is at least encouraging to see parliament saying it won’t support a no-deal outcome. It is vital that we not only have an orderly withdrawal but that we are set up to succeed in agreeing a mutually beneficial future relationship with our EU partners.

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The EU27 are very good at message discipline. Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, has just issued a statement through his office that reads very like the one from Donald Tusk. (See 8.55am. A spokesperson for Varadkar said:

The EU position on the withdrawal agreement, including the backstop, is set out in the conclusions of the December meeting of the European council. It has not changed.

The withdrawal agreement is not open for re-negotiation.

The agreement is a carefully negotiated compromise, which balances the UK position on customs and the single market with avoiding a hard border and protecting the integrity of the EU customs union and single market.

The best way to ensure an orderly withdrawal is to ratify this agreement.

We have consistently said that we want the closest possible future relationship between the EU and the UK. A change in the UK red lines could lead to a change in the political declaration on the framework for the future relationship, and a better overall outcome.

We will continue our preparations for all outcomes, including for a no-deal scenario.

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This is from Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

The House of Commons could have asserted itself tonight - instead it indulged the PM’s decision to chase a fairytale at the behest of the DUP/ERG, and increased the risk of no deal in the process. A woeful abdication of responsibility. https://t.co/b5ybMIHI9W

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 29, 2019

And she tweeted this earlier too, in response to a tweet from my colleague Jessica Elgot.

Just when you think it’s not possible to feel any more contempt for this shower... https://t.co/XevvRzBMAN

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 29, 2019

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