Theresa May urged to SACK Remainer rebels who defied her to block a No Deal Brexit
Ex-Tory Vice Chair Ben Bradley called on the PM to get rid of the ministers who abstained on the final Brexit vote tonight
THERESA May is under pressure to sack Remainer ministers tonight who defied her to block a No Deal Brexit.
Ex-Tory Vice Chair Ben Bradley called on the PM to get rid of those in her top team who abstained on the final Brexit vote tonight.
The Government eventually ended up whipping against the motion as it went to the vote as it would have ruled out a No Deal forever - something the Government don't want to do to keep pressure on the EU.
Cabinet bigwigs Amber Rudd, David Gauke, David Mundell, Greg Clark and Claire Perry all chose to abstain tonight instead and didn't vote.
A total of 13 ministers opted not to vote at all - and three Personal Private Secretaries too.
But the Government ended up losing the vote anyway as MPs insisted that the UK must not leave the EU without a deal in any circumstances - that passed 321 - 278.
Junior DWP minister Sarah Newton voted against the Government and for the motion tonight - and she resigned before she was sacked.
Jacob Rees-Mogg says that the Tory ministers who abstained tonight to take No Deal off the table should quit.
He said: "Collective responsibility requires ministers to support government policy or to resign. It is a basic constitutional point."
Tory backbencher Mr Bradley was fuming in the minutes after the vote, telling Sky News: "I'm angry, quite emotional really.
"We promised to leave on 29 March, and now Parliament has said we're not going to leave."
He demanded that Mrs May sack those who had refused to vote with her.
He said: "There needs to be something. Trust in Government in evaporating. If ministers can't vote for the government position on a three-line whip, then they have to go.
"If she doesn't, we are in total freefall. There can't be one rule for backbenchers and one for Cabinet ministers, or we're in a mess.
"They have just broken a two-year promise to the electorate."
In full - which ministers voted against Theresa May or didn't vote at all over No Deal?
ON THE FINAL VOTE
- Bim Afolami (PPS - abstained)
- Robert Buckland (abstained)
- Alistair Burt (abstained)
- Greg Clark (abstained)
- Tobias Ellwood (abstained)
- David Gauke (abstained)
- Stephen Hammond (abstained)
- Richard Harrington (abstained)
- Simon Hoare (PPS -abstained)
- Margot James (abstained)
- Anne Milton (abstained)
- David Mundell (abstained)
- Claire Perry (abstained)
- Amber Rudd (abstained)
- Sarah Newton (voted against - resigned)
- Paul Masterton (voted against)
But Scottish Secretary Mr Mundell told ITV News this evening: "I'm not resigning."
Tory MP Mark Francois told Sky News told Sky: "You might as well tell the whips to pack up and go home.
"The Government is barely in office."
Theresa May will tomorrow bring forward yet another vote on Brexit - this one on a delay to our exit date.
It will say that if her deal passes by March 20 there will be a short delay to get the legislation through.
But if not, then she will seek a longer extension - possibly past the European Council election in May to sort it out.
But the bloc has said that it is still preparing for No Deal tonight, as there's only two ways to leave the EU - with or without a deal.
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