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As it happenedended

Brexit vote result - LIVE: Cabinet ministers rebel as Theresa May's bid to keep no-deal Brexit on the table ends in yet another humiliating defeat

Follow The Independent's live coverage of the day's political events

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
Wednesday 13 March 2019 21:52 GMT
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What happens now with Brexit?

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Theresa May has suffered a humiliating defeat after MPs voted to completely take the option of a no-deal Brexit off the table.

MPs voted by 312 votes to 308 in favour of an amendment that was stronger than the government's own motion in its opposition to a no-deal outcome.

Ms May's motion said the Commons "declines to approve" leaving without a deal on March 29, but said the only way to avoid this is to pass an agreement. The amendment passed by MPs removed this caveat and simply said the Commons "rejects" a no-deal Brexit.

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​Earlier, chancellor Philip Hammond used his Spring Statement to downgrade growth forecasts and warn MPs that uncertainty over Brexit was damaging the economy.

It came after ministers revealed plans to scrap tariffs in the event of the UK crashing out of the European Union without a deal as MPs prepare to vote on a no-deal Brexit.

Under a temporary and unilateral regime, EU goods arriving from the Republic of Ireland and remaining in Northern Ireland will not be subject to tariffs – a prospect likely to increase the risk UK jobs would be lost. Charges will however be payable on goods moving from the EU into the rest of the UK via Northern Ireland under a schedule of rates also released today.

Ian Blackford - the SNP leader - says the government's own analysis shows a no-deal Brexit will be catastrophic for the economy and asks her to whip her MPs to vote against it this evening. 

But Theresa May - as she has said on at least a dozen occasions previously - says the only way to take no deal off the table is to vote for a deal, or have no Brexit at all. 

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 12:17

The PM says the EU has made clear they will not accept elements of the withdrawal agreement, without an actual withdrawal agreement - such as a transitional period, or citizens' rights.

This comes after a series of Brexiteer MP have suggested in recent days that Britain can pursue a so-called "managed no deal" , by leaving the EU on 29 March, without a deal, but with a transition period. 

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, rubbished this suggestion yesterday, saying it was a "dangerous illusion", adding: "No withdrawal agreement means no transition."

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 12:26

Following PMQs, the chancellor Philip Hammond will also deliver his spring statement. 

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 12:39

Chancellor Philip Hammond is now delivering the Spring statement, and says that last night's vote leaves a "cloud of uncertainty" over the economy. But he says the economy is still strong, and "defied expectations". 

Thanks to the hard work of the British people over the last nine years, he adds this country for the first time in a decade will have "genuine and sustainable" options for the future.

The OBR expects Britain's economy to grow every year, Hammond says. It forecast  the economy will grow 1.2% this year, 1.4% next year and 1.6% in the following three years

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 12:47

The chancellor says the OBR expects to see 600,000 new jobs by 2023, with wage growth at three per cent - higher in each year of the forecast period. 

Hammond says the government has made its biggest choice on public spending by putting the NHS frontline - "the single largest cash commitment ever made by a peacetime British government", he says. 

The chancellor says wider departmental funding now needs to be addressed. He says he will set a three year spending review before the summer recess if the uncertainty over a no-deal Brexit is removed, and a deal is approved with the EU. 

He repeats his assertion there will be a "deal dividend" should the House of Commons approve a withdrawal agreement in the coming weeks, and possibly months. 

The progress the country has made "will be at risk" if a smooth exit from the EU is not agreed, he warns. 

"I hoped we would do that last night, but I am confident we as a House will do that over the next few weeks."

Mr Hammond told MPs: "A no-deal Brexit would deliver a significant short- to medium-term reduction in the productive capacity of the British economy. And because our economy is operating at near full capacity, any fiscal and monetary response would have to be carefully calibrated not to simply cause inflation." 

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 12:53

The Chancellor hails the strength of the public finances. Borrowing for the year will be just 1.1 per cent of GDP he says - £3bn lower than forecast at the Autumn budget and £130bn lower than in the last year of the Labour government.

It will fall to £29.3bn in 2019-20 then:

£21.2bn in 2020-21

£17.6bn in 2021-22

£14.4bn in 2022-23

£13.5bn in 23-24, its lowest level in 22 years.

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 12:54

Hammond says he is "confident" we are going to do a deal. It isn't just the spectre of uncertainty the country needs to overcome, he says, but a government led by Jeremy Corbyn will  "chill the marrow of our economy" Hammond says.

He says the only sustainable way to higher wages is higher productivity. Raising productivity is also about investing in people, he adds.

It is about increasing the wages of the lowest paid, the chancellor insists. "We want to be ambitious - with the ultimate objective of ending low pay in the UK."

He announces a new review into the effects of minimum wage pay.

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 13:02

He announces Americans, Australians and South Koreans to be allowed to use our e-gates at airports after Brexit, as he repeats the governments aim to end free movement from the EU.

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 13:08

The Chancellor announces some actual spending with £260m pledged for the borderlands region of Southern Scotland and the North of England. Negotiations are underway for deals for Wales and for Derry, he says.

He takes a pop at the opposition after putting an end to “Labour’s discredited PFI” and says there will be a consultation on how to replace PFI contracts.

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 13:08

  ↵On climate change, the chancellor says the UK is already leading the world with ambitious targets. The Treasury trailed the climate change part of Mr Hammond's speech at the weekend:

Ashley Cowburn13 March 2019 13:11

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