Government defeated in key Brexit vote - here's how the day unfolded
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Your support makes all the difference.The Government has been defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a critical vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation.
MPs amended the EU Withdrawal Bill against Theresa May's will, so guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful" vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels.
Ms May's whips applied heavy pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305, a margin of just four votes.
Here is how the day unfolded.
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Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live with Emma Barnett, the Labour MP Chuka Umunna has said that he "worries for his public safety" and avoids standing near the edge of the the tube platform.
“Particularly since I got married –and we have a daughter because it’s not just me now - if anything was to happen to me - it has huge repercussions for my family and I constantly think about it. I get stopped a lot - I have to say most members of the public, 99% of the time are very pleasant to me when they stop me on public transport all over the country but you do worry about your public safety. I’m careful I do not stand anywhere near the edge of a tube platform; I get worried sometimes that people are going to push me over.
That goes through my mind - and there will be people listening to this who will go “ah well what do you expect that’s kind of what comes with the territory….”
Conservative MP Antoinette Sandbach has confirmed that she will join rebels voting for Mr Grieve's amendment, and said she believed there were enough fellow Tory MPs with "grave concerns" to ensure a Government defeat.
She told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "The way to absolutely ensure a parliamentary vote is to have it on the face of the legislation."
Theresa May refuses to back down ahead of possible Brexit Bill defeat saying it would put 'smooth' EU withdrawal in… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
Dominic Grieve is now speaking in the Commons on the EU Withdrawal Bill - he is the rebel ringleader pushing the amendment this evening, giving MPs a "meaningful" vote on the final Brexit deal.
Ken Clarke also criticised the Government for rejecting amendments for "administrative convenience", as he said a "meaningful vote" was needed before the "final trade deal - indeed the whole deal - is actually agreed".
He added: "I think either new Clause 3 or Amendment 7 is the absolute minimum that this House should be passing at this stage to make it quite clear that binding commitments that affect future generations, changing our law in substantial ways, can only be made with the proper approval of both Houses of Parliament following the formal procedures that are necessary for statutory law."
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