THERESA May has quashed a Tory revolt to finally pass a law to authorise Brexit after a marathon five week battle with Parliament.
The Commons threw out two major conditions slapped on the bill by the Lords last week.
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MPs voted to throw out the changesCredit: BBC Parliament
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Speaker John Bercow announced the results in the Commons this eveningCredit: PA:Press Association
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The PM quashed a Tory revolt to finally pass a law to authorise Brexit after a marathon five week battle with ParliamentCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
And late on, Labour peers backed down to agree not to tamper with the landmark power - ordered by the Supreme Court – for a second time, ending the constitutional stand-off.
The Government defeated the second Lib Dem amendment to the Article 50 bill to give Parliament a veto on the outcome by 274 to 118 votes with Labour abstaining.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson dubbed it “a pivotal and exciting moment”.
As the bill finally cleared Parliament, Brexit Secretary David Davis said: “We are now on the threshold of the most important negotiation for our country in a generation.
“We have a plan to build a Global Britain, and take advantage of its new place in the world by forging new trading links.
“So we will trigger Article 50 by the end of this month as planned and deliver an outcome that works in the interests of the whole of the UK.”
B-Day on March 27
Senior No10 sources quashed speculation that Theresa May would launch two years of Article 50 talks today.
Delaying it will please EU members as it will avoid overshadowing the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Union’s foundation on March 25.
Eleven Tory MPs who campaigned for Remain defied the PM’s strict three line whip to abstain over the heated issue on whether to give Parliament a veto on the Brexit talks’ outcome.
The senior group, lead by ex-Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, wanted to stop the PM walking away from any deal and pushing Britain into a hard Brexit.
The Government won the Commons showdown by a comfortable majority of 45, by 331 versus 286.
Mrs May’s numbers were boosted by six Brexit-backing Labour MPs as well a 10 Ulster unionists and UKIP’s only MP Douglas Carswell voting with her.
Warning that backbenchers will still try to stop a hard Brexit walkaway, Ms Morgan said: “Parliament will find a way to have its say whether a deal is reached or whether no deal is reached”.
The Commons also threw out a second Lords amendment to grant the 3.2 million EU citizens already living here immediate residency rights when we leave the EU by 335 versus 287, a majority of 48.
Britain must first get a reciprocal promise that the one million Brits in Europe will also be able to stay there, Mr Davis insisted.
But the Brexit Secretary also pledged to take on “moral responsibility” for guaranteeing the rights when that happened.
Former Lib Dem boss and Deputy PM Nick Clegg warned ministers they will have to introduce a system “strikingly similar” to ID cards to keep track of EU migrants here after Brexit.
Pro and anti-Brexit backbench Tory MPs tore into each other during the bad tempered Commons debate last night.
Leavers heckled pro-EU Tory MP Anna Soubry as she spoke out against the government, and she hit back: “Oh, I’m so sorry I thought we lived in a democracy”.
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John McDonnell spoke in favour of guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens to stay in the UKCredit: Getty Images
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Protesters outside Parliament today demanded MPs accept the amendments to the BillCredit: Fame Flynet
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They claimed the PM was trying to muzzle MPsCredit: AP:Associated Press
In the Lords, the Government swiftly defeated two bids by the Lib Dems to keep the ‘ping pong’ process going over the fight on EU migrants’ rights and a veto for peers and MPs.
Victory was made easy when Labour ordered all its peers to abstain, not wanting to challenge the primacy of the House of Commons for a second time and risk ministers' revenge.
The Brexit bill was finally passed by Parliament at 10.12pm.
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