Brexit: More Labour resignations over second referendum vote – as it happened

We’re closing this live blog down now. Thanks for reading and commenting. Here’s a summary of the day’s events:

• MPs have voted to ask for a delay to Brexit, meaning the UK would not leave on 29 March, as the prime minister had originally planned. Theresa May was forced into proposing the motion and allowed her MPs a free vote on it. While she voted for it, a significant number of her own government ministers and her party voted against – including the Brexit secretary, who had called on MPs to back in moments beforehand. European leaders said the delay would need a strong justification.
• Theresa May is due to bring her deal back to Parliament for a third time after the Commons rejected the chance to take direct control of the Brexit process. Today’s Commons vote, which would represent a major constitutional shakeup, was a close-run thing – with the prime minister retaining authority in that area by only two votes.
• MPs also overwhelmingly rejected an amendment calling for a second referendum. Labour ordered its MPs to abstain, believing the timing to be wrong, and only 85 MPs voted for a referendum that would have had remain as an option.
• Five Labour frontbenchers resigned as shadow ministers over the party’s abstention order. Ruth Smeeth stepped down before the vote in anticipation of disobeying the leadership’s instructions, while four more frontbenchers who voted against the amendment agreed to resign afterwards.
• The Lib Dem leader, Vince Cable, said he would stand down after the local elections in May. Cable said he wanted to make way for a new generation of Liberal Democrats, though he said he would stay on if a general election or a second referendum was called in the intervening period.
• The party suspended Lord David Steel over his admission that he was aware Cyril Smith was a child sexual abuser, but failed to assess whether he was a risk to children. The former Liberal leader made the comments in testimony to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and the Lib Dems have launched a formal inquiry.

If you’d like to read yet more, my colleagues Heather Stewart, Jessica Elgot and Peter Walker, have the full story:

The decision to suspend Steel was taken by the party in Scotland, Vince Cable has told the BBC’s Newsnight programme, adding that they acted “quickly, properly and in an orderly way”.

There was very serious concern about what he said, serious allegations, they have got to be investigated. I think the proper procedure which has been followed is that he is suspended while these investigations take place. We take it very seriously.

Asked by ITV News whether it was time for him to apologise to victims, Cable said:

No it isn’t. The investigation needs to precede, we will look at the consequences when they happen.

Naturally, if there is distress in the family, we are deeply concerned about it. We need to investigate what happened and establish the truth.

There’s a disciplinary process, we need to establish what happens. He is innocent until proven guilty but he is suspended and the action will follow up on that.

We have acted very, very quickly. It is a voluntary party, these are not people who are professionally employed in disciplinary investigations, we convened the group immediately the day after this allegation was made.

I think it has been dealt with very expeditiously and promptly.

The Press Association has produced this helpful timeline of the last three days in Parliament – for those of us who are feeling somewhat lost.

Tuesday

• MPs vote overwhelmingly to reject the prime minister’s Brexit deal for a second time, by 391 to 242.

Wednesday

• The Commons votes in favour of an amendment to a government motion which rejected the idea of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal under any circumstances, by 312 votes to 308, although the vote is not legally binding.
• An amendment from the Malthouse compromise group of Conservatives that called for a “standstill” agreement lasting as late as the end of 2021, under which the UK would observe EU rules and pay into Brussels budgets, is heavily rejected by 374 votes to 164.
• Another amendment seeking to delay Brexit until 22 May is defeated by a majority of 210 MPs.
• MPs then support the amended government motion rejecting a no-deal Brexit by 321 votes to 278.

Thursday

• MPs reject an amendment seeking to extend Article 50 in order to hold a second Brexit referendum by 334 votes to 85.
• Another amendment tabled by the Labour MP, Hillary Benn, which sought to allow the House of Commons to hold indicative votes on what kind of Brexit deal should be negotiated, is narrowly defeated by MPs, by 314 votes to 312.
• A Labour amendment calling for a delay to Brexit to “provide parliamentary time for this House to find a majority for a different approach” is rejected by 318 votes to 302.
• A government motion seeking to extend the Brexit process is then passed by 413 votes to 202.

The former Liberal leader, Lord David Steel, has been suspended from the Liberal Democrats following his evidence to the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse about Cyril Smith.

Following the evidence concerning Cyril Smith given by Lord Steel to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse on 13th March 2019, the office bearers of the Scottish Liberal Democrats have met and agreed that an investigation is needed. The party membership of Lord Steel has been suspended pending the outcome of that investigation. That work will now commence.

It is important that everyone in the party, and in wider society, understands the importance of vigilance and safeguarding to protect people from abuse, and that everyone has confidence in the seriousness with which we take it.

We appreciate the difficult work that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is doing on behalf of the victims and survivors of abuse, and the country as a whole.

The attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, believes the UK could extricate itself from the backstop under the terms of the Vienna convention if it began to have a “socially destabilising effect on Northern Ireland”, according to the Daily Telegraph (£).

The paper is characterising the new legal advice it says has been issued by Cox as an attempt to win over those Brexiters who have so far been unable to support the prime minister’s deal – such as the ERG and the DUP. But it does not rate his chances of success, saying senior Brexiters have already dismissed the advice as “erroneous” and “badly misconceived”.

And tensions within the Tory party are boiling over, with the prime minister’s former policy chief – who resigned in 2017 – tweeting:

Lewell-Buck was the shadow minister for children and families, Madders was a shadow health minister and Fovargue was a shadow education minister.

Three more Labour shadow ministers have resigned from the party’s frontbench – taking today’s total to five – over their decision to ignore the leadership’s instruction to abstain from the vote on whether or not to call a second referendum.

It had been reported that Justin Madders, Emma Lewell-Buck and Yvonne Fovargue were among four shadow ministers asked to resign by Jeremy Corbyn’s office. All of them voted against the second referendum amendment today. A statement just released by the Labour leader reads:

I would like to thank Yvonne, Emma, Ruth, Justin and Stephanie for their service while on the Labour frontbench.

I understand the difficulties MPs have felt representing the views of their constituents during this process.

All of us across the House now have the opportunity to work together to find a solution to the crisis the government has plunged us into. Labour’s alternative plan can unite people, however they voted in 2016.

I look forward to continuing to work with them to secure a Labour government, end austerity and give real hope to the whole country.

The first to go today was Ruth Smeeth, who resigned prior to the vote so she could defy Corbyn’s order. Stephanie Peacock, the other of the four asked to resign afterwards, announced she had agreed to do so about a hour ago.

The Irish premier, Leo Varadkar, has said London needs to tell the EU about what purpose an extension would serve and how long it would last.

Varadkar said he welcomed Westminster’s vote to extend Article 50 as it reduces the likelihood of a cliff edge, no-deal Brexit at the end of the month.

There seems to be two emerging options – ratification of the withdrawal agreement followed by a short extension into the summer, or a much longer extension that would give the UK time and space to decide what they want to do, including considering options that had been taken off the table like participation in the customs union and single market.

I think we need to be open to any request they make, listen attentively and be generous in our response. This matter will be now discussed further at next week’s European Council meeting and hopefully we will have more clarity from London in the meantime about their intentions.

Unanimity by the 27 will be required for any extension.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, cast doubt on the EU Commission’s desire to allow an extension.

Cable has now released a statement on his impending departure:

I indicated last year that, once the Brexit story had moved on and we had fought this year’s crucial local elections in 9,000 seats across England, it would be time for me to make way for a new generation. I set considerable store by having an orderly, business-like, succession unlike the power struggles in the other parties.

So I wanted you, our members, to know that, assuming Parliament does not collapse into an early general election, I will ask the party to begin a leadership contest in May.

It has been my great privilege to lead the Liberal Democrats at this crucial time. I inherited the leadership after two difficult and disappointing general elections. But I take pride in seeing the party recovering strongly, with last year’s local election results the best in 15 years, record membership and a central role in the People’s Vote campaign.

Cable’s departure in May as leader will trigger a 12-week contest. He has said:

I wanted to set it out so that there’s an orderly process of succession and the next generation can come through rather than chaotic power struggles you’re seeing inside the Tory party and Labour party so I wanted us to do better than that.

In his interview with the Mail, he added:

I would obviously like to have presided over a spectacular recovery [of the Lib Dems], rather than a gradual recovery, but events were beyond my control.

The fact that the issue of no Brexit and peoples vote is still live, that Theresa May can’t get her Brexit deal through, that we’ve managed to scrub no deal is a tribute to the kind of campaigning that our party’s done.

I think it is a creditable performance, and I’m very happy to let someone else take it on.

However, he he would stay on as leader if a general election or a second referendum was called.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Vince Cable, will stand down the role after the local elections in May, he has said. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Cable said he wanted to pave the way for a new generation to lead the party through Brexit, but declined to back a successor. He has told the paper:

My wife Rachel has been very supportive [of my time as leader] and doesn’t mind me doing it and has come round the country with me, but she would like to spend more time with me. I think she will see it as a bonus that she sees me more.

I’ll be continuing as an MP. I want to get back to writing books again in my spare time.

Stephanie Peacock, who ignored a Labour instruction to abstain and voted against the amendment calling for a second referendum, has resigned from the party’s frontbench.

Peacock was in the opposition whip’s office – a junior shadow ministerial position. And there could be more, if this unconfirmed report is accurate:

The Lib Dem leader, Vince Cable, has attacked Labour after the party failed to support the vote on another referendum.

Labour have predictably let down the cause of a people’s vote this evening. This was their first chance to stand up and be counted, but instead they sat on their hands. Brexit remains in chaos with the government having faced heavy defeats this week.

The Commons has agreed by a large majority that article 50 will have to be extended. With the hallowed exit date of 29 March more or less scrapped, it now seems inevitable that Brexit will be delayed or very possibly stopped. A people’s vote remains the only way to resolve what is fast becoming a national crisis.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, who voted for the delay, has nevertheless told Channel 4 News it would be a “disaster” to have a long extension if the EU insisted on a Brexit delay of around two years.

I think people want to get on with this. There are now two options on the table: One is to deliver the prime minister’s deal, which just can be delivered by 29 March or a short technical extension afterwards. Or, the alternative to that is a long extension, which I don’t want to see.

The international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, voted against the delay. But she said that, since parliament had agreed to request an extension, it must be a “swift one, with purpose”. She added:

We must deliver the result of the referendum, and hurry up about it.

The decision of the Brexit secretary, Steve Barclay, to also vote against the delay is getting some attention:

14 Mar 201915.42 EDT

Lisa O'Carroll

Business leaders have welcomed the vote on an extension to article 50 but urged MPs not to drop the ball because of extra time.

Edwin Morgan, the interim director of the Institute of Directors, said “few in business will be stepping forward to thank parliament for its efforts this week”, while the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said trade was still in the “danger zone” .

While there is widespread relief that a cliff-edge Brexit was now likely to be averted, businesses are desperate for an end to the continuing uncertainty. Adam Marshall, the BCC’s director general, added:

While most businesses will support an extension to article 50 to avert the prospect of a messy and disorderly exit on 29 March, with just two weeks to go this vote leaves firms with no real clarity on the future.

The Food and Drink Federation has warned of catastrophic consequences of a no deal Brexit. Its chief executive, Ian Wright, said:

As the focus moves away from a 29 March 2019 exit date towards a later date, we must not overlook that 29 March is still the date in the Withdrawal Act. It is critical that MPs now follow-through on their intentions with actions. The government must swiftly agree the length of delay with the EU and table a statutory instrument to change that date. Only then can the diversion of time, effort and money towards no-deal planning be halted.

And Morgan added:

We know a tiny, tiny amount more about the next steps than we did a couple of days ago, but the problem is that the clock is still ticking and no deal is still the default.

It may be folly to hope that parliament can agree on anything more than what it doesn’t want, but the Brexit process parted company with reason a long time ago, so what choice do business leaders have?

Here’s some political reaction to the evening’s action in the Commons:

The DUP leader, Arlene Foster, told Channel 4 News:

We are talking to the government and to the attorney general at the moment to try and make a deal happen because we want to see Brexit working, we want to see it working for the whole of the UK in a way that doesn’t leave Northern Ireland behind.