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Brexit: Theresa May wins knife-edge customs bill vote as defence minister resigns amid Tory rebellion

Prime minister forced to rely on Labour rebels to help her avoid humiliating defeats as she suffers biggest rebellion of her premiership

Benjamin Kentish

Political Correspondent

Monday 16 July 2018 23:45 BST

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Stephen Kinnock accuses Theresa May of 'dancing to the tune of the ERG'

Theresa May narrowly saw off a backbench rebellion on a key piece of Brexit legislation during a dramatic night in the House of Commons.

The government managed to get its customs bill passed by MPs despite knife-edge votes in which a number of pro-EU Conservatives voted against their party.

Ms May suffered her biggest rebellion as prime minister as 14 Tories voted against the government. They included Guto Bebb, a defence minister, who effectively resigned his frontbench role by joining the rebels.

Ministers were forced to rely on three Labour rebels - Frank Field, Kate Hoey and Graham Stringer - voting with the government to avoid what would have been two humiliating defeats on a key Brexit bill.

It came after Ms May bowed to pressure and agreed to support four amendments tabled by Tory Brexiteers to the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill.

The most contentious of these will guarantee that the UK only collects tariffs on behalf of the EU - a key part of the prime minister's Brexit strategy, as agreed by ministers at Chequers - if European countries do likewise on behalf of the UK. There is little to suggest the EU would agree to such a policy, casting major doubt over the Chequers plan just 10 days after it was agreed.

That amendment was passed with a majority of just three, as 305 MPs voted for it and 302 voted against.

A second Brexiteer amendment, which will ensure the UK has an independent VAT policy after Brexit, was also passed by just three votes.

The government also agreed to accept an amendment saying ministers must table full legislation in Parliament if they want to keep the UK in a customs union with the EU, and another that would prevent a customs border being introduced between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

During a series of tight votes, MPs rejected a Labour motion that would have kept Britain in a customs union with the EU.

Brexit casualties

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Brexit casualties

Andrea Jenkyns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary at the ministry for housing, communities and local government role

May 2018 - The Morley and Outwood MP said: “We want to see a new relationship with Europe, with a new model not enjoyed by other countries – nothing that leaves us half-in, half-out. “And in order to achieve this, we need to leave the customs union.” Ms Jenkyn’s also said she wished to dedicate more of her time to Parliament’s influential Exiting the European Union select committee, after a series of “unbalanced” reports produced by MPs

PA

Brexit casualties

David Davis - Resigned from Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union role

July 2018 - quit following a major row with May over her plans for post-Brexit relations with the EU. Davis resignation letter said: “As you know there have been a significant number of occasions in the last year or so on which I have disagreed with the Number 10 policy line, ranging from accepting the [European] Commission’s sequencing of negotiations, through to the language on Northern Ireland in the December Joint Report. “At each stage I have accepted collective responsibility because it is part of my task to find workable compromises, and because I considered it was still possible to deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. “I am afraid that I think the current trend of policy and tactics is making that look less and less likely.” He went on to argue that the “general direction” of Ms May’s policies would leave the UK “in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one”.

AFP/Getty

Brexit casualties

Steve Baker - Resigned from Minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union role

July 2018 - Mr Baker, a key Tory figure in the Leave campaign, was David Davis’s main lieutenant at Dexeu, and was hailed as ”courageous and principled” by other Brexiteer Tories as he also left.

Reuters

Brexit casualties

Boris Johnson - Resigned from Foreign Secretary role

July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, Mr Johnson said: "On Friday, I acknowledged that my side of the argument were too few to prevail and congratulated you on at least reaching a Cabinet decision on the way forward. "As I said then, the government now has a song to sing. "The trouble is that I have practised the words over the weekend and find that they stick in the throat."

Reuters

Brexit casualties

Conor Burns - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary role

July 2018 - A Brexit supporter who worked alongside Boris Johnson stated in his resignation letter: “I've decided it's time to have greater freedom. I want to see the referendum result respected. And there are other areas of policy I want to speak more openly on.”

Rex

Brexit casualties

Chris Green - Resigned from Department for Transport role

July 2018 - The Bolton West MP said: "Parliament overwhelmingly decided to give the decision of whether to leave or remain in the European Union to the British people and they made an unambiguous decision that we ought to leave. "I have always understood the idea in 'Brexit means Brexit' is that the final deal should be clear to me and my constituents - that we have, in no uncertain terms, left the European Union. Twitter Ads info and privacy "The direction the negotiations had been taking have suggested that we would not really leave the EU and the conclusion and statements following the Chequers summit confirmed my fears. "I recognise that delivering Brexit is challenging, however I had hoped at tonight's meeting that there would be some certainty that my fears were unfounded but, instead, they have been confirmed. "I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary and it is with regret that I offer my resignation with immediate effect."

PA

Brexit casualties

Maria Caulfield - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for women role

July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. Lewes MP warned that the direction of travel did “not fully embrace the opportunities that Brexit can provide”. Ms Caulfield said in her letter to the PM: “The policy may assuage vested interests, but the voters will find out and their representatives will be found out. This policy will be bad for our country and bad for the party. “The direct consequences of that will be prime minister Corbyn.”

PA

Brexit casualties

Ben Bradley - Resigned from Conservative Party vice-chair for young people role

July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. The Mansfield MP said: “I admit that I voted to Remain in that ballot. What has swayed me over the last two years to fully back the Brexit vision is the immense opportunities that are available from global trade, and for the ability for Britain to be an outward looking nation in control of our own destiny once again. “I fear that this agreement at Chequers damages those opportunities; that being tied to EU regulations, and the EU tying our hands when seeking to make new trade agreements, will be the worst of all worlds if we do not deliver Brexit in spirit as well as in name, then we are handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to No10.”

PA

Brexit casualties

Robert Courts - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role

July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. MP Mr Courts said: “I have taken a very difficult decision to resign my position as [parliamentary private secretary] to express discontent with the Chequers [plans] in votes tomorrow. “I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life. I cannot tell the people of Woxon that I support the proposals in their current form.”

Getty

Brexit casualties

Scott Mann - Resigned from Parliamentary Private Secretary role

July 2018 - resigned over May's Chequers plan. "I fear elements of the Brexit white paper will inevitably put me in direct conflict with the views expressed by a large section of my constituents. I am not prepared to compromise their wishes to deliver a watered-down Brexit. "The residents of North Cornwall made it very clear that they wish to have control over our fishery, our agricultural policy, our money, our laws and our borders. I will evaluate those principles against the Brexit white paper and ensure that I vote in line with their wishes."

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The late-night drama in the Commons came after a tense day of negotiations between ministers and Brexiteers, culminating in the government agreeing to support the amendments tabled by Eurosceptic Tories in the European Research Group - a bloc of 60-80 MPs led by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

These motions were tabled in a bid to scupper the government's Brexit strategy as agreed by ministers at Chequers earlier this month.

However, in an unexpected development, Downing Street insisted they would not affect Ms May's plans and that the government would therefore accept them.

Theresa May said it was "absolutely wrong" to suggest the ERG amendments were incompatible with the Chequers plan.

She told MPs: “I would not have gone through all the work that I did to ensure that we reached that agreement [at Chequers] only to see it changed in some way through these bills.

“They do not change that Chequers agreement and the minister from the despatch box later today will be making that clear.”

A Downing Street source added: “We will be accepting these four amendments because we feel they are consistent with the white paper we published last week.”

That decision prompted fury from pro-EU Tory MPs, who vowed to defy party orders and vote against the amendments.

Justine Greening: Government is 'gridlocked' over Brexit

In a heated debate, Tory MPs clashed repeatedly over the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Remainer Anna Soubry accused Ms May of “caving in” to Brexiteers and added: "Seems Jacob Rees-Mogg is running Britain."

In the Commons, she said: “The only reason that the government has accepted these amendments is because it is frightened of somewhere in the region of 40 Members of Parliament - the hard, no deal Brexiteers, who should have been seen off a long time ago and should be seen off.

“These are people who do not want a responsible Brexit, they want their version of Brexit - they don't even represent the people who actually voted Leave."

But leading Brexiteers insisted their amendments simply clarified existing government policy.

Sir Bernard Jenkin told MPs: "These amendments were only ever about clarifying government policy, that the UK will not join a customs union with the EU, nor agree to split Northern Ireland from the UK for customs purposes, that we are leaving the EU VAT regime, and any customs arrangement with the EU is not one-sided.

"By accepting these amendments, the government does no more than confirm our understanding of stated government policy."

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