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MPs hijack Brexit as they win power to block No Deal and call second referendum if Theresa May is defeated next week
PARLIAMENT is set to block a No Deal Brexit if Theresa May's deal falls next week, it emerged tonight.
In a massive blow for the Prime Minister, MPs voted to hijack Brexit if her withdrawal agreement is defeated in the Commons - as is almost certain.
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It means the Commons could order Mrs May to adopt a soft Brexit strategy - or even call a second referendum.
Europhile Tories teamed up with Labour to force the move through at the start of a five-day debate in Parliament which will end with a crunch vote next Tuesday.
The PM opened the marathon debating session by defending her botched deal - saying: "We should not let the search for a perfect Brexit prevent a good Brexit."
But even before the debate started this evening, the Government suffered THREE humiliating losses at the hands of MPs within the space of an hour.
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Ministers were forced to agree they'll publish all the legal advice they've been given on Brexit as they lost two bids to block the release of the papers.
Then they lost another vote which states that if Mrs May's deal is voted down, Parliament will have the right to instruct her how to proceed.
It was backed by 26 Tories who want to see a soft Brexit or a second referendum - including party veterans such as Michael Fallon, Damian Green, Oliver Letwin and Nicholas Soames.
When MPs finally vote on the deal itself a week from today, Mrs May is on course for a heavy defeat with Brexiteers and Remainers from her own party expected to team up with the opposition.
As the Brexit drama mounts:
- A top European court official declared that Britain could cancel Brexit in a win for Remainers
- The former Bank of England boss laid into Mrs May for her "betrayal" of the British people
- Current Bank governor Mark Carney claimed a No Deal would make food prices soar by 10 per cent
- The DUP vowed to break their agreement with the PM if her deal does pass
- Plans for a BBC debate on Brexit this Sunday were suddenly scrapped
Mrs May made the opening speech in the Brexit deal debate this evening, after she held a Cabinet meeting with her senior ministers this morning.
The PM used it as a last-ditch chance to win over MPs who could end her career by defeating her deal next week.
How MPs could take control of Brexit if Mrs May's deal collapses
THE amendment passed tonight by rebellious MPs could give the Commons control of the Brexit process as soon as next week.
It will come into effect if the Prime Minister loses next Tuesday's vote on whether to approve the withdrawal agreement.
If Mrs May is defeated, she will have to make a statement in the Commons within three weeks laying out her next steps.
Under the terms of the new amendment, MPs will then be able to pass a motion directing the PM to act in whatever way they want.
The Commons is likely to call for a softer form of Brexit than Mrs May wants - such as a "Norway-style" single market deal, or staying in the customs union.
In any case MPs are almost certain to support a motion ruling out the possibility of No Deal.
Brexiteers pointed out that the motion will not technically be legally binding on the Government.
Tory MP Steve Baker said: "It is not legally binding on the PM. Acts are law, motions are motions. The executive still decides how to proceed."
But Westminster insiders insisted it would be seen as "politically binding" - because if the PM ignores the will of the Commons, she risks being thrown out of power altogether.
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Defending her low-key negotiating style, Mrs May said: "I have spent nearly two years negotiating this deal. I have lost valued colleagues along the way, and faced fierce criticism from all sides.
"If I had banged the table, walked out of the room and at the end of the process delivered the very same deal that is before us today, some might say I had done a better job. But I didn't play to the gallery."
She added: "I don't say that this deal is perfect, it was never going to be. That is the nature of a negotiation. We should not let the search for a perfect Brexit prevent a good Brexit."
The PM insisted her deal delivered for Brits on both sides of the referendum divide - adding that it would be impossible to reopen talks with Brussels.
She promised to work with MPs to ensure they have a say in the future path of Brexit.
And she denied claims that the hated Irish backstop proposal is "a trick to trap us in the EU".
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Mrs May said: "Membership of any Union that involves the pooling of sovereignty can only be sustained with the consent of the people.
“In the referendum of 2016, the biggest democratic exercise in our history, the British public withdrew that consent.
"They confirmed that choice a year later by voting overwhelmingly for parties that committed to delivering Brexit.
“The referendum was a vote to bring our EU membership to an end and to create a new role for our country in the world.
“And to deliver on that vote, we need to deliver a Brexit that respects the decision of the British people. A Brexit that takes back control of our borders, laws and money.
“And a Brexit that sets ourselves on course for a better future outside the EU."
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She concluded: “The British people want us to get on with a deal that honours the referendum and allows us to come together again as a country, whichever way we voted.
“This is the deal that delivers for the British people.”
Backbench Tory MP Bob Seely intervened into the debate to warn pro-EU fanatics that holding a second referendum would leave them "in contempt of the British people".
Later tonight Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay will lay out the case for approving the withdrawal agreement.
Tomorrow Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt will speak in the debate, with Philip Hammond and Liam Fox following on Thursday.
The debate will then restart on Monday, with the vote expected on Tuesday evening.
Mrs May faced a fresh threat to her leadership as her DUP allies warned their confidence and supply agreement is finished if the Brexit deal is approved.
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Sammy Wilson, the party's Europe spokesman, said: "If it goes through and she persists with this deal then the confidence and supply arrangement is finished, because we couldn't possibly support a Government that was persisting in breaking up the Union."
He said the agreement - which the Tories rely on for their majority - would only survive if Mrs May's deal collapsed.
But Mr Wilson added that even if the DUP does pull out of the pact, they won't repay the £1billion they were given in return.
Speaking in the Commons, deputy leader Nigel Dodds added that the DUP was ready to fight a General Election if Mrs May loses power.
Theresa May insists she won't quit next week even if her Brexit deal is defeated by MPs
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