WRECKERS WRECKED
Humiliated Jeremy Corbyn finally agrees to meet Theresa May for Brexit talks after 25 MPs defy his order to back anti-Brexit plot
A HUMILIATED Jeremy Corbyn tonight finally agreed to meet Theresa May for Brexit talks - after 25 of his own MPs defied him to vote against a wrecking plot to stop Brexit.
The Labour boss said he would "look forward to" talking face to face with the PM after pro-EU plotters LOST their plan to kill off Brexit.
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Theresa May has been asking him to No10 to discuss Brexit for weeks, but he's repeatedly turned her down.
Tonight the PM successfully fought off a Remainer bid to stop her leading us out of the EU in March - by 298 votes to 321.
But a separate non-binding bid led by Labour's Caroline Spelman to rule out No Deal passed - in a warning to Brexiteers that they would have a tricky time to trying to force Britain to leave with nothing at all.
Tonight's Cooper plot was widely seen as a thinly veiled scheme to try and turn around our exit altogether and keep us in the bloc against the will of the British public.
People's Vote campaigners threw their weight behind it, thinking it could allow time for a second referendum.
And even Jeremy Corbyn joined the plot by anti-Brexit campaigners tonight - but it still wasn't enough to get it to pass.
Today Mr Corbyn revealed he would order all his MPs to support the plan, and claimed ministers have no choice but to delay Brexit for three months.
As many as 25 MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn and either voted against him or abstained tonight - including shadow ministers Melanie Onn and Tracy Brabin.
Eight Labour frontbenchers face being sacked for directly going against the Labour boss.
In another dramatic night in Westminster:
- The odds on the UK leaving without a deal were slashed
- MPs voted to send the PM back to Brussels to fight for a better deal
- But the EU insisted immediately that they can’t absolutely will not change the deal
- Remainers hoping for a second Brexit vote had their hopes dashed
Defeated Yvette Cooper and Nick Boles hinted they would try again to stop a No Deal from happening.
"We are running out of time. We will consider what amendments will be needed if at that point no progress has been made.
"We remain committed to ensuring that we don’t reach the cliff edge on 29 March without a deal.”
Crestfallen Remainer Chuka Umunna said he was "deeply disappointed" by the losses tonight and said Parliament had been "robbed" of the chance to stop Brexit.
And Lib Dem Layla Moran tore into Labour MPs for abstaining, some of them not even bothering to voting at all.
"Shame on those members who sat on their hands on the Cooper amendment," she blasted.
One MP said that Mr Corbyn's dire speech earlier was a key factor in keeping Labour MPs away.
We remain committed to ensuring that we don’t reach the cliff edge on 29 March without a deal.
Yvette Cooper and Nick Boles
But another said that chaos last night over a separate Brexit bill on immigration put them off, saying: "I'm not risking my seat if he can't get his act together."
Mr Corbyn's own plan for a delay to Brexit and seeking a customs union with the bloc was slapped down resolutely by MPs tonight too.
And another plot by chief Remainer Dominic Grieve to give MPs control of the Commons timetable to debate Brexit was also defeated - by 301 - 321.
Tonight MPs voted to tell Mrs May to go back to Brussels and rip out the hated Northern Ireland backstop - and they COULD get behind her deal.
They backed a change by Sir Graham Brady which pushed for "alternative arrangements" to be secured instead.
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Crunch Brexit vote explained
What happens in tonight’s vote?
The vote in Parliament this evening is a result of the defeat of Theresa May's deal earlier this month.
The law states that after the deal's defeat, the PM must make a statement in the Commons announcing her plans - which she did last Monday, saying she would press on with her current deal.
The Government must then table a so-called "neutral"; motion to be voted on - stating simply that the House of Commons "has considered the statement" made by the PM.
Why does the vote matter?
Whether or not MPs vote in favour of the motion tabled by Mrs May is literally meaningless.
But crucially, the motion can be amended - giving the Commons the right to pass any resolution it wants and dictate to the Government what it should do next.
What are the amendments?
There are two main amendments - one from Labour's Yvette Cooper which rules out a No Deal Brexit, and another from top Tory Graham Brady which kills off the Irish backstop.
But another five amendments from across the political spectrum were also selected for a vote by Speaker John Bercow.
Most of the amendments aren't legally binding but would provide a clear political message to the Government.
But the Cooper amendment is legally binding - making it more worrying to ministers than the others.
So what next?
Tonight’s vote is not a rerun of the first "meaningful vote" on whether or not to approve the Brexit deal.
That is likely to come some time in February - whatever happens this evening.
The People's Vote campaign for a second referendum has publicly supported the move as the first step towards cancelling Brexit altogether.
A number of Tory Remainers are expected to vote for the Cooper amendment rather than risk No Deal.
Today Business Minister Richard Harrington issued an extraordinary public warning to the PM not to take Britain out of the EU without a deal.
He told the BBC: "Many of us have been to see the Prime Minister and have told her the absolute catastrophe and disaster for jobs and the economy that No Deal would be.
"What she has asked us is that we give her another two weeks."
Mr Harrington said he would quit as a minister if the PM refused to give MPs another chance to rule out No Deal within a fortnight.
Mrs May is pinning her hopes on a rival amendment from Tory backbench chief Sir Graham Brady.
That motion would declare that the Commons supports the PM's deal as long as the Irish backstop is removed.
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Pro-EU plotters lose bid to slowly kill off Brexit as MPs throw out bid to delay our leave date
Guide to the key Brexit amendments
A TOTAL of 15 different amendments were tabled to today’s Brexit motion - and Speaker John Bercow selected seven to go for a vote.
COOPER AMENDMENT - DELAY BREXIT (DEFEATED)
Labour's Yvette Cooper has teamed up with Tory ex-minister Nick Boles to try to take No Deal off the table.
The cross-party amendment would force the Government to introduce a bill giving unprecedented powers to MPs.
The House of Commons would have been able to vote to delay Brexit by up to nine months if Britain is heading towards a No Deal outcome.
The bill states that if there is no deal in place by February 26, MPs could then instruct the Government to seek an extension of Article 50, the legal mechanism taking us out of the EU.
Jeremy Corbyn backed the amendment today - which gave it a good chance of success - but ultimately it failed when some of his own MPs abandoned him.
BRADY AMENDMENT - DROP THE BACKSTOP (PASSED)
Sir Graham Brady is one of a group of senior Brexiteers who've tabled an amendment to kill off the Irish backstop.
The amendment states that the Commons is prepared to back Theresa May's deal, but only on condition the backstop is "replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border".
Although it wouldn't be binding, Sir Graham says that if it passes it would allow the PM to return to Brussels and secure changes to the withdrawal agreement.
The Government is supporting the amendment and will tell Tory MPs they must vote for it.
GRIEVE AMENDMENT - SEIZING CONTROL (DEFEATED)
Dominic Grieve, the Tory Remainer with a history of tabling wrecking amendments, wants MPs to grab control of the Commons agenda.
The Government would have mean the Government lose the power to determine the order of business on six specific days in February and March.
It's thought anti-Brexit MPs would have take the opportunity to table legislation which could delay or even scrap our EU departure.
SPELMAN AMENDMENT - RULE OUT NO DEAL (PASSED)
The amendment with the most cross-party support was drawn up by senior Tory Caroline Spelman and Labour's Jack Dromey.
It states that the Commons "rejects the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a withdrawal agreement" - but it's not legally binding.
REEVES AMENDMENT - KEEP US IN (DEFEATED)
Labour MP Rachel Reeves's amendment is similar to Yvette Cooper's, but is not binding on the Government.
It states that if no deal has been reached by February 26, the Government should ask Brussels to extend the Article 50 process.
This one didn't pass.
LABOUR AMENDMENT - FUDGE (DEFEATED)
Jeremy Corbyn tabled an amendment calling for a string of additional votes on what should happen next.
The options mentioned include delaying Brexit, staying in a customs union or holding a second referendum.
SNP AMENDMENT - LISTEN TO SCOTLAND (DEFEATED)
SNP boss Ian Blackford has proposed a motion concluding that " the people of Scotland should not be taken out of the EU against their will".
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The PM's spokesman said: "In order to win the support of the House of Commons, legal changes to the backstop will be required. That will mean reopening the withdrawal agreement.
"The Prime Minister also reiterated that today will not be the last chance for Parliament to express a view on the Brexit process.
"If we have not brought back a revised deal by February 13, we will make a statement and again table an amendable motion for debate the next day. Parliament will therefore be given time to have its say whatever happens.”
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Labour’s Yvette Cooper tells Andrew Marr her plan to delay Brexit
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