Theresa May moves step closer to triggering Brexit after historic night sees Commons pass Article 50 bill – but Corbyn faces fight for survival

THERESA May moved a step closer to triggering our EU exit after the Government won a series of 10 votes on the Brexit bill last night.

But Jeremy Corbyn faces a fresh fight for survival after key ally Clive Lewis resigned from the Shadow Cabinet over his attempt to force Labour MPs to vote for triggering Article 50.

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More than 50 rebelled and went against their leader in the final vote, officially known as the ‘third reading’, including a host of other frontbenchers.

But it passed with a majority of 372, meaning the Article 50 bill now heads to the House of Lords.

Earlier a host of plots by the opposition parties to try and amend the legislation all failed after a mammoth debate in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister had warned potential Conservative rebels they would be “obstructing” the will of the people if they joined forces with Labour and the SNP to alter it.

But in the end the pro-EU Tories backed down and failed to force Mrs May’s hand, ensuring the bill’s unexpectedly smooth passage.

And to cheers from Brexiteers in the chamber it was announced it had gone through without any changes yesterday evening.

However the proceedings caused further chaos in the Labour party, after Clive Lewis released a statement ahead of the final vote confirming he was standing down.

The MP for Norwich, and frontrunner to be the party’s next leader, said he “cannot, in all good conscience, vote for something I believe will ultimately harm the city I have the honour to represent, love and call home”.

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In response Mr Corbyn thanked him for his work in the Shadow Cabinet and said he understood "the difficulties MPs representing constituencies which voted Remain have in relation to the European Union Withdrawal Bill".

But after a day in which it was rumoured he was planning to stand down as Labour boss following a shambles over his Brexit position and dire poll numbers, he came out fighting this morning.

The hapless leftie told the BBC it was reporting "fake news" on its Breakfast programme and said it was "absolute nonsense" to say he has discussed a handover date with close aides.

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Overall 494 MPs voted in favour of the Brexit bill, and 122 MPs chose to vote against invoking Article 50 and kick-starting our EU divorce.

Of them there 52 SNP MPs, who were heard whistling and signing ‘Ode to Joy’ – the EU’s anthem - as the results of the division were being tallied up.

They were told off by the Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.

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There were also 52 Labour MPs who voted against, up from the 47 who opposed the legislation at second reading last week, more than a dozen of whom are part of the party’s frontbench team and could face the sack.

A further eight abstained, according to the party's whips.

But Diane Abbott, who had drawn ridicule for missing last week’s votes, walked through the lobby with Mr Corbyn and the Government.

Only one Tory rebelled, veteran MP and former Chancellor Ken Clarke, joining seven Lib Dems, three from Plaid Cymru, three independents, the sole Green MP, and three from the SDLP.

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Ministers also saw off a bid to make them unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU nationals already in the UK by 332 votes to 290, majority 42, despite the threats of a backbench revolt.

The amendment put forward by Labour former cabinet minister Harriet Harman was defeated after Home Secretary Amber Rudd sent a letter to Conservative colleagues offering them assurances over the status of EU nationals.

The Government has said it will treat the issue as a priority in Brexit negotiations and seek to find reciprocal agreement with Brussels as soon as possible.

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Another defeated amendment was Tim Farron's call for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal.

The Liberal Democrat leader wanted to make the PM outline the process to ratify the UK's new relationship with the EU.

This would have included another referendum to stop Britain from going "over the cliff" if the Government was unable to negotiate a good deal, but MPs voted against it by 340 votes to 33.

However there were 19 Labour MPs who voted in favour of Mr Farron's amendment, including five of Mr Corbyn’s frontbench team

They included shadow policing minister Lyn Brown, shadow Home Office minister Rupa Huq, shadow communities minister Andy Slaughter, shadow Foreign Office minister Catherine West and shadow transport minister Daniel Zeichner.

It is yet to be known whether they will be punished for disobeying the three-line whip, as Mr Corbyn has previously said he would be “lenient” with any rebels.

The next stage of the bill will see it scrutinised by the House of Lords, where the Government does not have a majority, on Monday, February 20.

As attention focuses on what the peers do, David Davis called on the upper chamber to “do its patriotic duty” and swiftly pass it without any trouble.

The Brexit Secretary branded Tory MPs' threats to punish the Lords if they try to block or hold up the law as “silly", insisting it was “a very important institution”.

But a senior government source contradicted him to say: “If the Lords think they can play God, then the public will call for them to be abolished”.

The bill is set to undergo a tricky committee stage, where the Government could face numerous attempts to amend the legislation over two days.

If peers successfully pass any amendments it will be sent back to the Commons for another vote, in a process known as "ping-pong". This could potentially delay the bill's completion.

But the Government's timetable says it is expected to complete its passage through the Lords by Tuesday March 7.

It will then receive the Queen's approval, known as royal assent - and become an Act of Parliament.

If this is all successful it would allow Theresa May to then trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty at a European Council meeting in Brussels later that week, three weeks before her self-imposed deadline of March 31.