MPs will have a chance to force Theresa May into a softer Brexit after peers passed an amendment calling on the government to “take all necessary steps” to form a customs union with the EU.
Peers voted by 207 votes to 141, majority 66, to amend the trade bill in the House of Lords to make it the prime minister’s objective to strike a UK-EU trade deal which includes a customs union.
It means MPs will have a binding vote on customs union membership - a key Labour demand - when the legislation returns to the Commons in the coming weeks.
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, shadow international trade minister, said: “The success of this cross-party Lords motion gives both the government and the House of Commons a chance to step back from the disaster of a no deal, and to deliver an outcome which would satisfy the clear majority of people in the UK.
“Ministers must now drop their red lines on Brexit and embark on a fresh approach to the negotiations with the EU – based around a new customs union that protects jobs, secures opportunities for our industries, and removes the need for a hard border in Ireland.”
May defeated a similar proposal in July by just six votes but another Commons division on the issue will likely be on a knife-edge given Labour backing and the increasing number of Tories who back a so-called Common Market 2.0, or Norway-plus, Brexit model.
Jeremy Corbyn was on Wednesday meeting Tory and Labour MPs who support the plan for a single market and customs union relationship with the EU.
The Labour leader’s spokesman said he was meeting the group, including Tory ex-ministers Sir Oliver Letwin and Nick Boles, “to discuss how to achieve a deal that could be good for jobs and could bring Leave and Remain voters together”.
But the spokesman added: “He hasn’t formally backed a Common Market 2.0.”
It came as negotiations to tweak the PM”s deal to make it palatable to her own Brexiteers appeared to be faltering.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, seen as May’s key ally for unlocking backbench Tory support, said he and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay “exchanged robust, strong views” with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier in talks on the Irish backstop.
Barnier meanwhile told EU commissioners in Brussels that the negotiations were proving “difficult” and a way had not been found to deliver the legally-binding changes Cox needs to reassure Brexiteers that Britain will not be trapped in the backstop.
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters: “Michel Barnier was present and informed the commissioners that while the talks take place in a constructive atmosphere, discussions have been difficult.
“No solution has been identified at this point that is consistent with the withdrawal agreement, including the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland which, as you all know, will not be reopened.”
May’s official spokesman told reporters at Westminster: “My understanding is that the talks were difficult and there was a robust exchange of views. However, talks are ongoing.
“The EU continues to say that it wants this to be resolved and that it wants the UK to leave with a deal. Parliament has been clear that for this to happen, we require legally-binding changes which mean that the UK can’t be trapped in the backstop indefinitely.
“That is what we will continue to pursue.”
Leaving Brussels on Wednesday morning, Cox told Sky News: “I can’t reveal the discussions. These are private and confidential discussions.
“But we are into the meat of the matter now. Both sides have exchanged robust, strong views and we are now facing the real discussions. Talks will be resuming soon.”