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Theresa May’s rejigged Brexit deal inflicted with another defeat by hardline Tory MPs as she loses her voice
THERESA May’s rejigged Brexit plan croaked on Tuesday night after hardline Tory MPs inflicted another devastating defeat.
The PM, who again lost her voice during a critical speech saw her revised EU deal shot down by 391 votes to 242, a majority of 149.
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It leaves Britain without any clear Brexit path — with just 16 days to go until the March 29 departure day.
Mrs May, who previously lost her voice during a disastrous Tory Conference speech in 2017, croaked her way through a plea for support in the Commons on Tuesday.
The PM, who lost a vote on her Brexit deal in January by a record 230 votes, this time managed to reduce the number of Tory rebels from 118 to 75.
But she still crashed to the fourth biggest Commons defeat in history.
Afterwards she told MPs she “profoundly regrets” their decision. She threw down the gauntlet to Parliament by insisting it must now decide a way forward.
DEAL CRUMBLES
Mrs May asked: “Does it wish to revoke Article 50? Does it want to hold a second referendum? Or does it want to leave with a deal but not this deal? These are unenviable choices. But thanks to the decision the House has made this evening they must now be faced.”
MPs will today now vote on whether to leave the EU without a deal on March 29.
If that fails, as expected, there will be a vote on whether to delay Brexit. But aides on Tuesday night signalled the PM could still have a third go at trying to get MPs to agree to her deal.
Her spokesman said: “She strongly believes her deal is the best one on offer.”
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In other developments:
- REMAIN Cabinet ministers will today urge the PM to defy Brexiteers by forging a consensus with Labour to deliver a softer Brexit.
- MRS May said the Government will this morning publish new tariffs on imports under a No Deal — which will antagonise businesses.
- SOME Tory MPs urged Mrs May to call a General Election.
- THE Pound rose against the Euro after the deal was voted down. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the defeat meant the PM’s deal is “clearly dead”.
Business reacted to the vote with anger. The CBI’s Carolyn Fairbairn said: “Enough is enough. This must be the last day of failed politics.
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“A new approach is needed by all parties. Jobs and livelihoods depend on it. It’s time for Parliament to stop this circus.”
EU leaders were also despairing at the continued stalemate.
Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen said: “It is difficult to give a helping hand to people who stand with both hands in their pockets.”
Grayling not ready for No Deal
CHRIS Grayling’s transport department has been accused of overseeing complacent, rushed and secretive preparations for a No Deal Brexit in a damning report by MPs.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee found it the worst performing of Whitehall departments in preparing the country for leaving the EU without a deal.
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The Sun Says
THERESA May’s new Brexit defeat represents a catastrophic failure by a Parliament of pygmies.
They handed the British people the right to determine if we left the EU, solemnly pledged to see the result through and made it law. They have twice now rejected the only available deal and calamitously let the nation down.
Many have sold their election promises and constituents down the river.
Three years since the referendum and just 16 days before our scheduled exit, no one even knows if Brexit will happen.
This great country is in the grip of chaos which is terrifying families and crippling businesses. Our politicians should hang their heads in shame.
Mrs May’s deal isn’t great. But it would have got Brexit done, as a weary population desperately wants. It would have killed off a hideously divisive new referendum and more paralysing uncertainty.
So many MPs have been inept, dishonest or both. Very few escape blame.
For all her admirable resilience Mrs May has made fundamental errors. Not least on Monday when she secured changes from the EU then oversold them on live TV, only to have her own Attorney General knock them down.
Given his advice was so pivotal, why was he not in the loop throughout?
Or yesterday, so terrified of Cabinet Remainers quitting that she allowed her party a free vote today to rule out No Deal — our final bargaining chip.
Meanwhile Tory Brexiteers who rejected the deal have lost the plot.
We respect them for standing by Brexit, 17.4million voters and democracy. But how can they not grasp that Brexit is in mortal danger? They are vastly outnumbered by Remainers now hell-bent on imposing their will.
Some Remainers colluded with the EU. All have backed Brussels over Britain and now have the gall to lament the chaos they themselves have caused.
Their stinking duplicity is only matched by Labour’s. Corbyn’s mob take the public for fools, posing as Leavers one minute, Remainers the next. Their sole concern is their party.
How they whooped like excited kids as Mrs May’s defeat became clear. To them Britain’s grave plight is just a tribal game.
Then there’s the EU and its three-year campaign to humiliate and punish Britain, hoping to overturn our Leave vote. It has soured relations for a generation.
No wonder Tories do not trust Brussels not to trap us in the backstop.
No one can predict what happens now.
If the ERG get a third chance to back the deal they must take it. By then Brexit’s impending death should be very clear. But no MP should be in any doubt how voters see them.
Their stock was already low. Their conduct at this critical moment in our history has shamed Parliament.
PM Theresa May addresses MPs after they voted against Brexit deal for a second time
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