Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Theresa May dodges expected defeat with 11th hour concessions over a meaningful vote on Brexit

Theresa May
Theresa May

Theresa May has dodged an expected defeat in the Commons with 11th hour concessions to buy off Tory rebels over a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal.

The biggest threat to the EU Withdrawal Bill was around an amendment sent by the House of Lords calling for a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal, with the option to send ministers back to the negotiating table, as opposed to Mrs May’s preference for a ‘take it or leave it’ token vote between whatever deal is negotiated and no deal.

Justice Minister Peter Lee added fuel to the smouldering rebellion by quitting less than 24 hours before the crunch vote, saying he “could not live with himself” if he supported the government’s “wish to limit parliament’s role in contributing to the final outcome” of Brexit and adding he would support a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.

“If, in the future, I am to look my children in the eye and honestly say that I did my best for them I cannot, in all good conscience, support how our country’s current exit from the EU looks set to be delivered,” he said.

With the number of suspected rebels rising and her authority wobbling dangerously, Mrs May was forced to call more than a dozen mutinous Tories into her office and strike a deal ahead of the vote to secure their loyalty.

She has promised to give parliament more powers by allowing MPs a say on what should be done if Brexit talks are still deadlocked by the end of November this year.

The move is expected to be enough to get the prime minister over the finishing line largely unscathed in the Commons tomorrow – but she faces a gruelling bout of ‘parliamentary ping-pong’ with the Lords, as the Bill bounces back and forth between the two Houses over the coming weeks.

Mr Lee abstained on the vote but said he was “delighted” the Government had agreed to introduce an amendment giving Parliament “the voice I always wanted it to have in the Brexit process”.

But Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake branded the Government’s climbdown nothing more than a ‘meaningless process’.

“At the 59th minute of the 11th hour, as has become a tradition in Brexit negotiations, the Tories have been forced to cobble together a compromise,” he said. “Time will tell as to whether this is just another attempt to buy off the rebels or a real attempt at consensus.

“Ultimately, this process started with the people and should end with the people. Liberal Democrats will therefore continue to campaign for the people to have the final say on the deal, and an opportunity to Exit from Brexit.”