Theresa May defeated on Brexit again as anti-EU Tories desert her in Commons vote

Theresa May suffered a Valentine’s Day massacre on Thursday when Conservative Brexiters helped inflict a heavy Commons defeat on the government.

The Prime Minister lost the support of the European Research Group of Tories after she tried to force her party to back a plan ruling out a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

While the motion was not legally binding, the ERG were so incensed by the move they abstained on the vote – plunging the government into defeat by 303 to 258 and technically removing her mandate to continue negotiations in Brussels.

The result highlights how fragile May’s grip is on a stable majority for a Brexit plan, coming just 16 days after Tories backed her to renegotiate the Irish backstop plan.

May wasn’t in the Commons chamber to witness the cheers from the Labour benches as the result was read out, but chief whip Julian Smith looked furious as yet another defeat was confirmed.

A Downing Street spokesperson acknowledged that while some Tories had “concern” about taking ‘no deal’ off the table, the blame for the defeat lay squarely at the feet of Labour, and said: “Jeremy Corbyn yet again put partisan considerations ahead of the national interest – and yet again, by voting against the Government’s motion, he is in effect voting to make no deal more likely”.

The spokesperson confirmed the PM was going to plough on with her attempts to renegotiate the backstop – effectively ignoring the Commons defeat of that policy.

Speaking after the result, former Brexit minister Steve Baker – one of the leaders of the ERG – said the government could get a majority if it backed the so-called Malthouse Compromise.

That plan is based on using technological solutions to keep the Irish border invisible when it comes to customs checks.

One Tory who abstained on the vote told City PM his actions brought him “no joy”, but he was unable to back a motion which ruled out a ’no deal’ Brexit.

He added: “They have not been engaging properly on the Malthouse proposals. If they do, they will carry the house as that is the only way that it is possible to bring both wings of the party together along with the DUP.

“The trouble is that she is still fixated on getting ‘her deal’ through.”

A Conservative MP who did vote with the government described the motion as “meaningless”, adding: “Why make it a problem?”

May on Thursday held phone calls with the leaders of Portugal, Austria, Sweden, and Angela Merkel of Germany, as she continued her attempts to reopen negotiations.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minster said May was updating her counterparts on the work being undertaken to reform or replace the backstop in a manner which is acceptable to the EU and her own party.