EXPLAINED: All the Brexit amendments MPs are voting on tonight
4 min read
So here we go again… MPs will vote tonight on a string of non-binding Brexit tweaks and alternatives, as Theresa May tables another ‘neutral’ motion on her deal to leave the EU. PoliticsHome gives you the lowdown on every single one.
AMENDMENT A - Labour’s fresh bid to push its soft Brexit plan
Jeremy Corbyn’s party is having one more go at getting the Commons to swing behind its plan for a softer Brexit deal before moving on to pushing for a second referendum (more on that here).
The plan - outlined in a letter to Theresa May earlier this month - calls for a “permanent and comprehensive customs union” with the EU as well as “close alignment” with its single market, and “dynamic alignment” on workers’ and environmental rights.
The plan also pushes the PM to commit to ongoing participation in key EU research and funding programmes and “unambiguous” assurances that security ties between the bloc and the UK will continue after Brexit.
AMENDMENT F - Cooper/Letwin amendment to ensure ‘short limited’ Article 50 extension
A bid to ensure Mrs May makes good on her offer to let MPs vote to avoid no-deal if they kill off her agreement.
The amendment now takes account of May’s latest gambit and essentially aims to hold her feet to the fire, saying if Parliament rejects her deal on 12 March and then also rejects a no-deal Brexit she must, on 14 March, bring forward a motion on a “short limited extension” to Article 50.
Before Theresa May made her big concession on Tuesday and announced that she would hold two more votes on whether to proceed with a no-deal Brexit or delay Britain’s departure if MPs reject her deal, several ministers - including three members of the Cabinet - had openly signalled that they would back the Cooper/Letwin amendment.
AMENDMENT K - Blackford/Savile Roberts amendment: Cross-party bid to register opposition to no-deal Brexit
In another straight-to-the-point amendment, the SNP’s Ian Blackford and Plaid Cymru’s Liz Savile Roberts will seek to show Theresa May that the Commons is “determined not to leave the European Union without a withdrawal agreement and future framework under any circumstances, and regardless of any exit date”.
ACCEPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT: AMENDMENT B - Costa amendment - resignation-triggering (and now government-backed) bid to secure EU citizens’ rights under a no-deal
Tory MP Alberto Costa has already had to resign as a government aide for tabling this bid to seek guarantees on the status of EU citizens even under a no-deal Brexit.
In a fairly confusing move on Wednesday morning, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the Government would not oppose the amendment - despite Theresa May pouring cold water on its central demands in the Commons on Tuesday. Cabinet Office minister David Lidington then confirmed in the chamber that the Government WOULD accept it.
It calls on Mrs May to seek a “joint UK-EU commitment” to implement the bit of her deal safeguarding the rights of EU citizens “whatever the outcome of negotiations” on other aspects of the pact - i.e. even if Britain is braced to leave the European Union without an agreement.
The bid had rare cross-Commons backing, with Tory Brexiteers like Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dominic Raab teaming up with Remainers including Dominic Grieve - as well as Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Keir Starmer - to support it.
PULLED: AMENDMENT C - Spelman/Dromey amendment #1 - paves the way for a bill allowing Article 50 extension
This is a pretty technical amendment, but it was being seen as a way to hold Theresa May to the promise she made on Tuesday to ensure MPs are able to extend Article 50 if they reject her deal.
The move from Conservative former environment secretary Caroline Spelman and Labour’s Jack Dromey - backed by a string of cross-party MPs - would have paved the way for a bill giving the Commons the chance to delay Britain’s exit from the EU. But Ms Spelman has now confirmed that it won't go to a vote after getting reassurances from the Government.
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