MAY'S D-DAY
Relief for Theresa May as Commons votes to defeat Brexit wrecking amendment by 319 votes to 303
The EU Withdrawal Bill is finally set to become law after Theresa May won a crunch Commons vote
THERESA May has won her final battle over the crucial Brexit bill - after Tory rebels backed down from their bid to inflict a humiliating Commons defeat.
Ringleader Dominic Grieve announced he would switch sides and back the Government after being told Parliament COULD get a say on what ministers do if talks with Brussels break down.
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His U-turn, which came after a last-minute appeal from Mrs May, saw the Commons oppose the House of Lords' final wrecking amendment by 319 votes to 303 as just six Tories ended up rebelling against the PM.
Now the EU Withdrawal Bill - key to enacting the result of the Brexit referendum - can finally become law, nearly a year after it was first tabled.
Mr Grieve announced in the Commons that he was abandoning his revolt in response to an admission by ministers that if they fail to strike a Brexit deal with the EU, Parliament may get the chance to tell the Government what to do next.
David Davis issued a statement saying it will be up to the Commons Speaker John Bercow to rule on whether or not MPs can give specific instructions to ministers in the event of No Deal, rather than simply having a yes-or-no vote on the Government's strategy.
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The dramatic compromise came after a day of heated talks designed to win over the rebels.
In the end the Commons rejected a House of Lords amendment granting Parliament a “meaningful vote” on what happens if negotiations with the EU break down.
The PM had said that if the motion passed, Brussels would have the upper hand in talks because the EU would know MPs can vote to block No Deal.
Minutes before the start of debate today, the Brexit Secretary put out a highly technical statement aimed at winning over the rebels.
In a boost for the Government, the pro-EU ex-minister Nicky Morgan immediately said she would would support ministers in today's vote as a result.
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And Mr Grieve shocked the Commons when he suddenly announced that he would also back the Government.
He told MPs: "Having finally obtained, I have to say with a little bit more difficulty than I would have wished, the obvious acknowledgement of the sovereignty of this place over the executive in black and white language I am prepared to accept the Government's difficulty and support it."
But he also warned the PM that Britain faces a disaster if talks with the EU do collapse, saying it would be "one of the biggest crises in modern British political history".
Opponents mocked Mr Grieve as "the grand old Duke of York" - because he marched the rebels to the top of the hill only to take them down again.
Just six Tory MPs voted against the PM - Ken Clarke, Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Antoinette Sandbach, Sarah Wollaston and Phillip Lee.
Opening the debate in the Commons, Mr Davis defended the Government's decision to reject the original amendment, saying: "The Lords amendment undermines the strength of the United Kingdom in negotiations."
But his opposite number Keir Starmer, arguing in support of the Lords motion, said: "It is not about frustrating or blocking Brexit, it is not about trying the hands of the UK negotiators.
"It is simply about this house playing a meaningful role in the terms of the Brexit deal."
Speaking after the result, Sir Keir said: "This is a disappointing result and comes after Theresa May is forced once again to try to buy off her own MPs at the eleventh hour."
How the EU Withdrawal Bill saga finally came to an end
THE EU Withdrawal Bill is one of the key pieces of legislation needed to make Brexit happen.
It will formally repeal the European Communities Act 1972, which took us in to the EU, and will incorporate European regulations into British law.
MPs and peers have been debating the bill for more than six months - with the main point of contention being how much control Parliament should have over the Brexit process.
Nearly all the amendments proposed by opposition MPs and by the House of Lords have either been defeated by the Government, or quietly accepted in order to avoid a political showdown.
The one final row over the bill concerned proposals to give Parliament a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal.
The Lords originally passed an amendment stating that if MPs vote down the deal, they will then be able to instruct the Government to re-open negotiations with Brussels - or even delay Brexit altogether.
That was voted down by the Commons last Tuesday, after ministers struck a deal with Tory rebels, led by Dominic Grieve, and agreed to put forward a replacement amendment.
That amendment states that if the UK and Europe are unable to strike a successful deal, Parliament will get a debate and vote where MPs can express their views on the next step - although they will only be able to vote for or against the Government rather than issuing specific instructions on how to proceed.
When it was published the rebels said it didn’t go far enough - so Mr Grieve wrote his own version, which would allow MPs not only to vote on a No Deal scenario, but to amend the motion in order to deliver a more specific message to the Government.
The final twist this afternoon came when David Davis put out a statement, explaining that the decision on whether or not MPs would have the chance to amend that motion would be in the hands of Commons Speaker John Bercow.
That was enough for Mr Grieve, who promptly announced he would not support his own amendment and effectively ended the threatened rebellion.
Earlier today Dr Lee, who quit as a minister over Brexit last week, insisted the rebels still had the numbers to defeat the Government despite the “dark arts” carried out by Tory whips.
The rebels insisted they aren't trying to reverse the referendum result - but one Tory MP, Simon Clarke, warned the proposed amendment was a "Trojan horse for cancelling Brexit".
In an attempt to create an insurance policy against mass Tory revolt, ministers quietly held talks with pro-Brexit Labour MPs to convince them to oppose the Lords amendment.
that Labour MPs in Leave areas were being promised an easier ride at the next General Election in exchange for their support.
John Mann, a key Labour Brexiteer, said: “This amendment is dangerous and unacceptable - it makes a No Deal more likely.”
He was one of four Labour MPs to back the Government - but a number of other defied Jeremy Corbyn to abstain on the amendment.
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In a sign of their desperation to win, the Government scrapped usual procedures designed to ensure MPs who are ill can still register a vote in the Commons.
Labour's Naz Shah, who is currently unwell, had to be pushed in to the chamber in a wheelchair with a sick bucket attached.
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Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson also turned up to back the "meaningful vote" clause even though she is so heavily pregnant she is already past her due date.
This morning the Government was accused of playing procedural tricks after tabling a vote which would have stopped MPs getting a vote on Mr Grieve's amendment - forcing the backbencher to propose his motion afresh.
Labour's Chris Bryant said: "Normally when the Government gets too clever by half procedurally it ends in disaster."
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