Shropshire MPs react after May wins the day - but EU won’t budge
MPs in Shropshire and Mid Wales rallied behind the amendment tabled by Sir Graham Brady in last night's Brexit votes.
Theresa May is heading for another Brexit deadlock after the EU refused to budge over her withdrawal agreement.
MPs last night backed Sir Graham’s amendment calling for the Irish backstop to be replaced by “alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border” – but the EU’s other 27 member states swiftly issued a statement insisting there would be no renegotiation.
On a night of key votes, Yvette Cooper’s amendment – supported by Labour’s frontbench – to extend Article 50 was defeated by a majority of 23 after Labour MPs voted against it.
West Midlands MP Caroline Spelman’s move to take ‘no deal’ off the table was passed by a majority of eight votes, prompting Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to finally accept an invitation from the Prime Minister to meet over Brexit.
MORE:
Mrs May told MPs there was now a “substantial and sustainable” majority in the Commons for leaving the EU with a deal but admitted renegotiation “will not be easy”.
She added: “If this House comes together we can deliver on the decision of of the British people and restore faith in our democracy.”
The Prime Minister said the Brady amendment would resolve the main obstacle to Britain securing a smooth and orderly exit from the EU.
MPs supported it by 317-301, with the Tory Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG) saying it would give the Prime Minister one final chance to toughen up her deal with Brussels.
Shropshire and Mid Wales MPs back Brady amendment
Sir Graham’s amendment, which called for the so-called Irish ‘backstop’ arrangement to be ‘replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border’, had been backed by the Government.
Telford MP Lucy Allan said: “I am delighted that PM now has real ammunition to go back to EU and get a better deal. Her negotiating hand has at last been strengthened by Parliament. I look forward to voting with the Government on a better deal in a few weeks time and to leaving EU on 29th March 2019.”
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczysnki said: "I'm delighted with that parliament has supported The Brady Amendment. It was critical that this was the position. It was an insidious and unacceptable position that Northern Ireland was being put into. It is an integral part of the UK so I'm delighted with the outcome.
"The Prime Minister now has a mandate if we want a deal we have got to move on the Northern Ireland border backstop."
He added: "Also, is the EU going to put people's jobs at rick for political dogma?"
Before the vote Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, said he intended to vote for Sir Graham’s amendment. He criticised alternative proposals, such as that put forward by Labour’s Rachel Reeve, which called for Brexit to be delayed by extending Article 50.
“I will not be supporting any amendment that seeks to delay, frustrate or abandon Brexit,” he said. “However, I am minded to support the Brady amendment, which puts pressure on Brussels in ensuring a time limit or similar to the Irish backstop.”
Glyn Davies, MP for Montgomeryshire, said he too would be voting for Sir Graham’s amendment. He said he hoped it would open the door to a compromise agreement backed by local government minister Kit Malthouse, which would extend the transition period by a year until the end of 2021. He believed the whole of the Conservative Party would be able to unite behind the Malthouse proposal.
“It will see us coming together behind a plan, at least on the Government side,” said Mr Davies.
Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, said Sir Graham’s proposal was “the best proposal for getting a good deal”.
Today he tweeted:
But within minutes of the vote a spokesman for Donald Tusk, the European council president, said: “The backstop is part of the withdrawal agreement and the withdrawal agreement is not open for re-negotiation.”
Mrs May told the Commons she would return to the House “as soon as possible” with a revised deal. If defeated, she will table another amendable motion for debate the following day, she added.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the results meant that extending Article 50 was now “inevitable”, adding: “This is one of the greatest national crises our country has faced in a generation.”
The Prime Minister had called on Parliament to “speak as one”, saying it was time for “words to be matched by deeds”. “If you want Brexit, you have to vote for Brexit,” she said.
Despite what she acknowledged was a “limited appetite” in Europe for reopening talks, the Prime Minister insisted: “I believe with a mandate from this House... I can secure such a change in advance of our departure from the EU.”
Warned
Among those to oppose the Brady amendment was Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, who said it was “a pointless mirage that wastes time as the clock ticks down to a disastrous chaotic exit”.
Labour’s Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said Mrs May had asked MPs to “drive a coach and horses” through an agreement she spent two years negotiating.
Labour MP Chuka Umunna called the defeat of the Cooper and Grieve amendments “a bad day for Parliament”. He warned the country was heading for ‘no deal’ and reiterated his call for a second referendum.
An amendment put forward by Mr Corbyn seeking to avoid ‘no deal’ was defeated by a majority of 31, while Dominic Grieve’s call for a series of indicative votes fell 20 votes short.
If no new deal is reached by February 13, the Prime Minister will make a statement to Parliament and table an amendable motion for debate the following day.
