Brexit vote result – live: Boris Johnson suffers second humiliating defeat as MPs vote to block no deal but put May’s deal back on table on technicality
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson‘s plan to call an early general election was rejected after his earlier bid to keep a no-deal Brexit on the table suffered a major blow.
The prime minister had called for a poll to be held on 15 October after legislation designed to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU on 31 October cleared the Commons on Tuesday.
But Labour and other opposition MPs refused to back the motion for a snap election, which needed a two-thirds majority in the Commons, while the risk of a no-deal exit remained.
The government failed to secure the support of two-thirds of MPs, with the Commons voting 298 to 56 – 136 short of the number needed.
Mr Johnson urged MPs to reflect on what he thinks is the “unsustainability of this position overnight and in the course of the next few days”.
See below for live updates
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has claimed Jeremy Corbyn’s team is clear “they will back a general election” once anti-no deal legislation is on the statute book.
This is the email sent out to Labour supporters this morning. Make of it what you will.
As if the possible deselection of 21 rebel Tory MPs wasn’t enough drama, the Conservatives are reportedly lining up a Brexiteer to take on Speaker John Bercow in his Buckingham constituency.
In a break with the polite convention the speaker’s seat is not contested, the Tories want to give him a run for his money, according to The Daily Telegraph.
“I would hope he would take the hint, but I wouldn’t bank on it,” Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told the paper, adding: “He always supported tearing up conventions, so it's difficult for him to oppose this.”
The good people at Statista have provided this handy infographic on the projected result of a snap election.
Projected seat distribution (Statista)
If passed in the House of Commons later, the anti-no deal bill will move to the House of Lords, where it is expected to face dozens of amendments from Tory MPs attempting to filibuster.
Dick Newby, leader of the Lib Dem group in the Lords, says he expecting as many as 86 amendments.
So he’s packed a duvet, change of clothes and shaving kit.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged Boris Johnson to back an amendment set to be tabled by opposition parties today. It would allow for a general election only if the government accepts their legislative bid to delay Brexit.
The pound rebounded as parliament voted through a motion paving the way for legislation to block a no-deal Brexit. Chris Baynes has the details.
The new European Research Group (ERG) chairman Steve Baker has called for an election pact between the Conservatives and the Brexit Party.
The Tory MP – a self-described “Brexit hard man” – warned that his party faces the prospect of losing to a “Lib / Lab Remain coalition” if the PM doesn’t do a deal with Nigel Farage.
Farage has responded by tweeting: “A positive step in the right direction to deliver a clean break Brexit.”
The leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has been pilloried for lying down on the front benches during last night’s key debate. Caroline Lucas accused him of “contemptuous” body language.
Here’s more.
A reminder that the government now *officially* wants a snap general election, but it needs a two-thirds majority in the Commons to bring it on. Will Labour back the move once the anti-no deal bill goes through? Will the Lib Dems?
Jo Swinson says she won’t support an election “if it increases the likelihood” of a no-deal Brexit. Which doesn’t clear anything up.
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