Theresa May has suffered another big rebellion from backbench Tory Brexiteers over plans designed to allow MPs to block a no-deal Brexit on March 29.
The prime minister had accepted much of the so-called Cooper-Letwin proposals in the face of a remainer rebellion, promising MPs votes on whether to proceed with a no-deal Brexit and whether to delay Article 50 if the prime minister’s deal is voted down again on March 12.
A symbolic amendment putting the plans to paper was expected to be waved through the Commons on Wednesday without a vote after the government said it would back it.
But a group of Tory Brexiteers voiced their opposition and triggered a surprise division, although the plans passed safely by a majority of 482.
Downing Street however will take note of the size of the Brexiteer rebellion, with 20 votes against the government, and more than 80 abstentions, in a fresh display of protest.
A European Research Group (ERG) source said the Brexiteer Tory faction did not make a formal decision on whether to oppose the amendment put down by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Jack Dromey with Tories Oliver Letwin and Caroline Spelman.
And they denied the split between outright opposition and abstentions revealed divisions within the ERG which could prove significant in March 12’s meaningful vote on May’s deal.
A source said: “On this one we simply weren’t centrally fussed - it just doesn’t matter in any fundamental way. If we were a party within a party it would have been a one-line whip job. To abstain. So go figure. Hence some ‘spirited exuberance’ by some.”
Earlier Spelman and Dromey said they were happy that no deal was effectively off the table for the day of Britain’s planned exit from the EU on March 29.
They said: “The Government has just confirmed acceptance of all the proposals in our amendments. There will not now be a no-deal Brexit in 30 days’ time because there is not a majority in the House for crashing out without a deal.
“We will not plunge over the cliff on 29th March into an abyss, making the country poorer in every sense of the word. There will now be an extension of the Brexit deadline to allow for serious cross-party dialogue on a better deal to protect the British national interest.”
Here is a list of the Tory rebels: Lucy Allan (Telford), John Baron (Basildon and Billericay), Bob Blackman (Harrow East), William Cash (Stone), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham), David Davies (Monmouth), Philip Davies (Shipley), Richard Drax (South Dorset), Philip Hollobone (Kettering), Gareth Johnson (Dartford), Esther McVey (Tatton), Nigel Mills (Amber Valley), Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot), Tom Pursglove (Corby), Henry Smith (Crawley), Bob Stewart (Beckenham), Desmond Swayne (New Forest West), Robert Syms (Poole), Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole), and Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes).