Brexit Super Saturday vote live: PM’s deal blocked as Letwin amendment passes
15:10pm Well that’s it.
Super Saturday has descended into…. Soggy, Stupid Saturday.
Boris Johnson’s last minute Brexit deal has been blocked, and he says he won’t “negotiate further delay”. Will he send a letter? Who knows. His spokespeople repeatedly refused to answer any questions on the matter.
Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg has announced that Monday will see the publication of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, so it’s not impossible that the UK will leave the EU on 31st October – but today’s vote definitely suggests it will be harder.
14:50pm: The government has been blocked from having its Brexit deal pass today, after MPs voted in favour of a controversial amendment put forward by Oliver Letwin.
The Letwin amendment, which effectively means Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have to seek an extension, passed by 322 votes to 306.
13:57pm: Arch Brexiter Bill Cash says he will back the Prime Minister’s deal, despite having some reservations about key aspects of it. He doesn’t go into detail but says there are “signs of very great process” in regard to “sovereignty and consent” and that “Northern Ireland would benefit”.
13:37pm DUP’s Sammy Wilson is in full flow, telling MPs why he and (presumably) the rest of the unionist party will reject the deal: “If anybody tells me that does not represent economic, customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of GB, I don’t know what a hard border looks like.
“On the one hand you can have all these checks and it doesn’t count as a hard border, and on the other you can have one camera and it does count as a hard border.”
He adds: “We are cut off from the country which we belong…”
Asked what he thinks about the Letwin argument, Wilson repeats his comments about the hard border. Then, in a tacit endorsement of the amendment, he adds:
We would be failing in our duty if we did not take every strategy available to try and guarantee changes and alterations….
13:32pm Former chancellor Ken Clarke, who has already spoken, offers more thoughts. He tells MPs that what we have before us is “undoubtedly a bad deal” and worse than that proposed by Theresa May.
But – he also says now the choice is very real. In the face of no deal, we should support this deal.
13:30pm Theresa May resisting the urge to make snide comments, backs the PM’s deal.
12:59pm There’s bad (but probably accurate) news from the New Statement’s assistant editor George Eaton.
That’s not even taking into account the most likely never-ending discussions around our future relationship with the EU…
12:56pm With just over 90 minutes left before the vote is expected to take place, here’s how the numbers are stacking up according to former government adviser Sam Freedman:
12:53pm Oliver Letwin, he of the controversial amendment, has explained the thinking behind it. The pro-Remain former minister said it is to prevent Britain crashing out with no deal if legislation is not passed by Hallowe’en.
Letwin says – as he did earlier this week – that he will vote for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill when it lands.
12:41pm Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer has been doing a good job dismantling the government’s case for backing the deal. He’s just used Brexiter John Baron’s argument – that it keeps the door open ultimately for no deal, or at least to trade on WTO terms as proof that there are no guarantees on the future relationship.
He also claims Johnson’s argument that he is not putting a border in the Irish Sea is simply wrong.
12:23pm Outside the Houses of Parliament a large crowd of People’s Vote protesters is gathering. You can read the full story here.
12:04pm Labour is whipping its MPs to support Letwin, in the hope it will force the Prime Minister’s hand and seek an extension to Article 50. This is not hugely surprising, and there doesn’t appear to be any huge consequences for those who rebel, which begs the question why Lexiters would fall in line. But it does give an indication of the direction of travel for today.
We are still expecting a vote at around 2:30pm.
12pm: It looks like the ERG-Spartans are backing Johnson’s deal. Brexit hardliner Mark Francois says no member of the ERG spoke against the deal at its meeting this morning. Owen Paterson has also said he will back it.
11:53am Labour’s Caroline Flint – who has already said she will back the PM’s deal – describes the Letwin amendment as “a panic measure”.
11:37am Former minister Alistair Burt, who lost the whip after he voted against the government last month, has said he willl not back the Letwin amendment.
11:30am Numbers are tight but according to Matt Chorley of The Times, the government is currently edging it
11:05am: With characteristic modesty, the PM has said: “I think this deal is about as perfect as you can get in the circumstances, if I do say so myself.”
11:04am While the PM continues to defend his deal in the Commons, People’s Vote protesters are starting to gather outside Parliament – although the loudest single voice is a pro-Brexit protester who is shouting that it’s time to “Get Brexit Done.
10: 54am After the Speaker John Bercow said it was time to “uncork the Gauke”, the former minister has given his thoughts.
David Gauke praised the PM for agreeing a deal but asks whether he ensure that a “deep and special relationship” is agreed with the EU before the implementation period comes to an end.
The PM says the 14 month period to reach a free trade deal with the EU is sufficient even though it is “a blistering pace”
10:51am While MPs debate the merits and demerits of the deal Johnson has signed, and Brexit more generally, the message from Number 10 is clear – if you want no more delay, MPs must not back the Letwin amendment.
One government source has told City PM that it would effectively “turn a meaningful vote into a meaningless one” – which is why MPs would be sent home.
10:45am Here is how the deal is going down among the electorate:
10:29am: Former chancellor Philip Hammond is still wavering but appears to leaning towards backing the PM. “Before I decide to jump on the Prime Minister’s bus, I’d like to be just a little clearer on the destination,” he says.
10:22am Former Conservative leader and arch Brexiter Iain Duncan Smith says he will back the deal. He calls on Oliver Letwin to remove his amendment, in order to give the people “a meaningful vote”.
The PM agrees saying it would be great shame if the opportunity to have a meaningful vote “were to be taken away from us”.
10:15am – Ken Clarke, father of the house and arch Remainer, has said he will back the deal.
9:44am – Prime Minister Boris Johnson is exhorting MPs to back the deal. He says it is an “historic opportunity to show the same breadth of vision as our European partners… by getting Brexit Done.”
He said the reason for the last three years of division was the competing feelings towards the EU – “sceptical” about greater integration, but “passionate and enthusiastic about Europe”.
9:27am Are things over before they’ve even started?
A Downing Street source has told CityAM that the Brexit deal vote will be effectively pulled if the Letwin amendment passes (see below for details).
The vote itself will go ahead, but Tory MPs will be told to go home because the amendment neuters the motion.
That means MPs could be sent home before the vote even happens.
9:17am Eurosceptic Tory MPs, sometimes known as Spartans, are expected to back the PM.
9:02 am Good morning from Westminster. Today MPs are sitting for a rare Saturday session in order to debate the 11th hour Brexit deal struck by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday morning.
It might feel as though we’ve said this a lot in recent months, but today really is a critical moment in the Brexit process.
If a deal is passed today, the UK is on course to leave the European Union on 31 October – three and a half years after the referendum. We will then have a transition period which, as things stand, will last more than a year, in which to thrash out the future relationship, including our trading deal.
Johnson’s deal makes no provision for the future relationship, meaning the UK could still wind up trading on WTO terms – which is either a good thing, if you are pro-hard Brexit, or a bad thing if you want to maintain ties as much as possible.
If no deal is passed today, the Benn Act will be triggered and an extension will be sought until 31 January. There is no guarantee the EU will agree to that, however.
Johnson is due to kick things off with a speech at 9:30am. MPs will then debate the deal – and possible amendments, including a controversial one tabled by Oliver Letwin, which could call the whole thing off.
As things stand the vote on the Brexit deal is expected around 2:30pm.
Labour is expected to back the Letwin amendment alongside the Liberal Democrats, but there are some rebel pro-Leave left-wingers – called Lexiters – who have signalled their intention to vote with the government.
Equally, some former Tories who had the whip removed when they voted against Johnson last month, could well rebel again.
The numbers are incredibly tight. Will Johnson be able to pull off what Theresa May never could?
We will be bringing you the news as it happens – keep refreshing to get the latest updates.