Theresa May to face down Brexit rebels as she rejects Lords amendment on 'meaningful vote'
2 min read
Theresa May is braced for a fresh Brexit rebellion as Downing Street said it "cannot accept" a compromise tacked onto its flagship EU exit bill by the House of Lords.
The Lords last night voted 354 to 235 in favour of an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill which would give MPs the power to intervene to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
The amendment was said to mirror an agreement that chief Commons Brexit rebel Dominic Grieve and fellow Conservative MPs thought they had struck with the Prime Minister last week in a bid to head off a rebellion - but which was later ditched by Mrs May amid howls of outrage from Brexiteers.
Number 10 today insisted it was sticking to its guns, with the Prime Minister's spokesperson arguing that the compromise amendment from the upper chamber would "undermine" talks with the EU.
The Prime Minister's spokesperson said: "We cannot accept the amendment on a meaningful vote agreed in the Lords. Agreeing to amendable motions would allow parliament to direct the Government’s approach to exiting the EU, binding the Prime Minister’s hands and making it harder to secure a good deal for the UK.
"It also does not meet the reasonable tests set out last week by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and any new amendment must respect the referendum result and cannot undermine the negotiations or undermine the constitutional role of Parliament and Government."
Downing Street meanwhile claimed that its own amendment - which does not give Parliament the power to seize the reins of the Brexit process - satisfied the concerns of key Tory rebels.
"Our original amendment struck the right balance between respecting the tests set out by the Government as well as delivering on the aims of Dominic Grieve’s own amendment," the spokesperson said.
"That is why we will be retabling our original amendment today and looking overturn the Lords' decision tomorrow."
Amid criticism from Brexiteers who have accused him of trying to kill off the UK's departure from the European Union, Mr Grieve this morning said it was "complete nonsense" to suggest that a vote against the Government tomorrow would bring down Mrs May's administration.
"This is the end stage of the consideration of the details of a piece of legislation," he said.
"Whichever way the vote ultimately goes, the idea that the Government is going to be endangered by this difference of view within the House of Commons which might lead to its defeat is complete nonsense."
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