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Brexit: MPs voting on changes to May's plan Brexit: MPs reject move to delay Brexit day
(35 minutes later)
MPs are voting on proposals to change the direction of Brexit. MPs have voted against a proposal to delay Brexit in order to prevent the UK leaving without a deal.
A number of amendments have been put forward by MPs after Theresa May's original deal was voted down by Parliament earlier in January. The amendment had been put forward by Labour MP Yvette Cooper, but was rejected by 23 votes.
Among them are plans to delay Brexit to prevent a no deal, and a call for the Irish backstop to be replaced by "alternative arrangements". MPs are voting on changes to Theresa May's Brexit plan before she seeks a re-negotiation of it with the EU.
Mrs May said she wants to re-open negotiations in Brussels with an "emphatic message" of what MPs want. The prime minister has urged MPs to back another amendment that would propose "alternative arrangements" to the controversial Irish backstop plan.
The first amendment - tabled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - calling for a "disastrous No Deal" scenario to be ruled out, and the second amendment - tabled by the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford - calling for an extension of Article 50, to rule out a no deal and to emphasise the role of the UK nations in the Brexit process, were both voted down by the House. The backstop is is the insurance policy in Mrs May's plan to prevent checks on goods and people returning to the Northern Ireland border, which some MPs fear could leave the UK tied to the EU's rules indefinitely.
The third amendment - tabled by Tory backbencher and Remain supporter Dominic Grieve - is now being voted on. It was a key part in seeing her original Brexit deal voted down in Parliament by an historic margin earlier in January.
It would force the government to make time for MPs to discuss a range of alternatives to the PM's Brexit plan on six full days in the Commons before 26 March.
There are four more amendments to be tabled that could be voted on - including one, from Tory MP Sir Graham Brady, calling for an "alternative" to the Irish backstop, which Tory MPs have been ordered to back.
The PM said she would go back to Brussels to get a "significant and legally binding change" to the Irish backstop, which aims to stop the return of border checks.
The EU has said it will not change the legal text agreed with the UK PM.
Mrs May said she knew there was a "limited appetite" in the EU for changes to the deal, but she believed she could "secure" it.Mrs May said she knew there was a "limited appetite" in the EU for changes to the deal, but she believed she could "secure" it.
She had phone calls with key EU leaders throughout the day ahead of the Commons votes and has already spoken to the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar.She had phone calls with key EU leaders throughout the day ahead of the Commons votes and has already spoken to the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar.
But the EU was "standing tough" on its position of no renegotiation and they were "mesmerised" with what was happening in Parliament, BBC Europe editor Katya Adler said. But the EU has said it will not re-open negotiations and change the legal text agreed with the UK PM.
Senior Brexiteer rebels - who voted down the PM's deal last month - have indicated they would be willing to back the rest of the UK-EU Brexit deal if she gets legal changes to the backstop. Three amendments - tabled by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford and Tory backbencher Dominic Grieve - had already been voted down by the House. You can read the detail of all the amendments here.
The backstop is the insurance policy in Mrs May's plan to prevent checks on goods and people returning to the Northern Ireland border, which some MPs fear could leave the UK tied to the EU's rules indefinitely. Mr Corbyn's amendment was voted down by 327 votes to 296, Mr Blackford's only saw 39 votes of support, compared to 327 votes against, and Mr Grieve, who wanted MPs to be given six days to debate Brexit alternatives, lost by 321 votes to 301.
But some MPs from the PM's own backbenches, who backed Remain in the referendum, will support rival proposals to try and rule out the UK leaving the EU without a deal. This was followed by Ms Cooper's, which lost by 321 votes to 298.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mrs May herself was the "obstacle to a solution" and that, whatever happened in the votes later, it had "now become inevitable" that the government would have to extend Article 50 - the mechanism which means the UK leaves the EU on 29 March. There are three more amendments to be tabled that could be voted on - including the government-backed amendment from Tory MP Sir Graham Brady, calling for an "alternative" to the Irish backstop, which Tory MPs have been ordered to back.
If MPs back Sir Graham's amendment, it could pave the way for a plan known as the "Malthouse Compromise". MPs are currently voting on one put forward by Labour MP Rachel Reeves, which requires the government to ask the EU to postpone Brexit day (without specifying for how long).
Engineered by both Leavers and Remainers, the proposal includes extending the transition period for a year and protecting EU citizens' rights, instead of using the backstop.
Mrs May appealed for the backing of the "Brady" amendment, saying it would "give the mandate I need to negotiate with Brussels an arrangement that commands a majority in this House - not a further exchange of letters, but a significant and legally binding change to the withdrawal agreement".Mrs May appealed for the backing of the "Brady" amendment, saying it would "give the mandate I need to negotiate with Brussels an arrangement that commands a majority in this House - not a further exchange of letters, but a significant and legally binding change to the withdrawal agreement".
Nigel Dodds, the Westminster leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - whose MPs Mrs May's government relies on to win key votes - welcomed the announcement, saying: "From day one... we rejected the backstop and argued for legally binding change within the withdrawal agreement. The decision to seek the reopening of the text is a sensible step forward by the prime minister." Nigel Dodds, the Westminster leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) - whose MPs Mrs May's government relies on to win key votes - welcomed the announcement, saying: "From day one... we rejected the backstop and argued for legally binding change within the withdrawal agreement."
And the pro-Leave European Research Group, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, has said it will vote in favour of Sir Graham's amendment.And the pro-Leave European Research Group, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, has said it will vote in favour of Sir Graham's amendment.
Its deputy chairman, Steve Baker, said the decision had been based on the PM's "promises", especially re-opening negotiations with the EU, but warned: "A vote for the Brady amendment is a vote to see if the PM can land a deal that will work. If not then we are not committed." If MPs back Sir Graham's amendment, it could pave the way for a plan known as the "Malthouse Compromise".
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Mrs May's decision to vote against her own deal by backing the Brady amendment was pointless because the EU has not agreed to legally binding changes to the Irish backstop. Engineered by both Leavers and Remainers, the proposal includes extending the transition period for a year and protecting EU citizens' rights, instead of using the backstop.
He said told MPs she was trying to "create a temporary sense of unity on her own benches but in reality she is raising expectations that she can never fulfil".
But Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said the amendment from Sir Graham would "help us unlock the conversation with the European Union and get us even closer to delivering the result of the referendum."
The Labour Party and a number of Remain-backing MPs are supporting Ms Cooper's amendment that would create a bill enabling Article 50 to be delayed by up to nine months if the government does not have a plan agreed in Parliament by the end of February.
Labour said it was supporting the amendment because the bill it would create could "give MPs a temporary window to agree a deal that can bring the country together".
However, Mr Corbyn, told the Commons they wanted a shorter window of three months to allow time for a deal to be finalised.
If no new deal is reached by 13 February, the PM will make a statement to Parliament that day and table an amendable motion for debate the following day, re-opening discussions on how to move forward with Brexit.If no new deal is reached by 13 February, the PM will make a statement to Parliament that day and table an amendable motion for debate the following day, re-opening discussions on how to move forward with Brexit.
But this has not reassured all of her party, with senior Tories including Ken Clarke and Oliver Letwin pledging to support the Cooper amendment in the vote later.But this has not reassured all of her party, with senior Tories including Ken Clarke and Oliver Letwin pledging to support the Cooper amendment in the vote later.
EU 'unlikely to entertain changes'EU 'unlikely to entertain changes'
By Katya Adler, Europe editorBy Katya Adler, Europe editor
The excitable interventions we're witnessing in Parliament will convince EU leaders even more deeply that MPs are still very divided over Brexit and that now is not the decisive moment for Brussels to budge.The excitable interventions we're witnessing in Parliament will convince EU leaders even more deeply that MPs are still very divided over Brexit and that now is not the decisive moment for Brussels to budge.
The EU wants to avoid an endless process of Theresa May shuttling to and from Brussels, getting a tweak or two, returning to Parliament, having the deal still rejected, coming back to Brussels and so on.The EU wants to avoid an endless process of Theresa May shuttling to and from Brussels, getting a tweak or two, returning to Parliament, having the deal still rejected, coming back to Brussels and so on.
It's right to think the EU sometimes insists one thing, then does something rather different.It's right to think the EU sometimes insists one thing, then does something rather different.
But the Irish backstop is a hugely sensitive issue, painfully co-negotiated over months with UK negotiators and almost impossible to fudge (as the EU prefers to do in difficult situations).But the Irish backstop is a hugely sensitive issue, painfully co-negotiated over months with UK negotiators and almost impossible to fudge (as the EU prefers to do in difficult situations).
EU leaders are unlikely to touch the conditions of the backstop until a no-deal Brexit is well and truly staring them in the face. And even then they are unlikely to entertain changes unless Dublin is on board.EU leaders are unlikely to touch the conditions of the backstop until a no-deal Brexit is well and truly staring them in the face. And even then they are unlikely to entertain changes unless Dublin is on board.
We're nowhere near there yet, if we ever get there.We're nowhere near there yet, if we ever get there.