No confidence vote result: Theresa May narrowly survives vote with help of allies who crushed her Brexit deal

Theresa May survives no confidence motion by a margin of 19 votes PM invites party leaders including Jeremy Corbyn for talks in the hope of breaking Brexit deadlock Follow our live updates on the latest Brexit developments here
Patrick Grafton-Green16 January 2019
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Theresa May has survived a no confidence vote in her government less than 24 hours after her Brexit deal suffered a historic defeat in the Commons.

In another evening of high political drama, the Prime Minister won the motion called last night by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

325 MPs voted in favour of the Government while 306 voted against. Without the support of her Northern Irish DUP allies Mrs May would have lost by one vote.

Her victory came with the help of the DUP and members of the Tory hardline European Research Group, who had united to crush her withdrawal agreement by an overwhelming majority.

After the vote, Mrs May vowed to “continue to work to deliver on the solemn promise we made to the people of this country to deliver the referendum and leave the European Union”.

She invited to leaders of other parliamentary parties to meet with her “starting tonight,” however Jeremy Corbyn refused her invitation unless she took the option of no-deal off the table.

“The House has put its confidence in this government. I stand ready to work with any member of this House to deliver on Brexit and ensure that this House retains the confidence of the British people,” Mrs May said.

Mr Corbyn retorted: "Before there can be any positive discussions about the way forward, the Government must remove clearly, once and for all, the prospect of the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit from the EU and all the chaos that would come as a result of that."

Mrs May will now have to present her Brexit 'Plan B' by Monday.

It came as European leaders opened the door to the March 29 Brexit deadline being pushed back by two months.

Guy Verhofstadt wrote: "What we will not let happen, deal or no deal, is that the mess in British politics is again imported into European politics.

"While we understand the UK could need more time, for us it is unthinkable that article 50 is prolonged beyond the European elections."

The Prime Minister also came under increasing pressure to make a break with the Tory party’s right to drop her Brexit deal “red lines” for the sake of a cross-party agreement on a Brexit deal.

The cross-party Exiting the EU Committee insisted it was "vital" for the House was given the chance to identify a plan that could command a majority.

It called for a series of "indicative votes" on the various options, something Downing Street has so far rejected, to establish where a majority could be found.

It also said MPs should be given an opportunity to delay Brexit if Parliament cannot agree on a way forward.

Earlier, during Prime Minister's Questions, Mrs May appeared to leave open the door to a possible extension of the Article 50 withdrawal process, which will see Britain leave the EU on March 29, to allow more time for a deal.

Asked by Tory Father of the House Ken Clarke whether she would "modify her red lines" and extend Article 50, Mrs May said: "The Government's policy is that we are leaving the EU on March 29, but the European Union would only extend Article 50 if actually it was clear that there was a plan that was moving towards an agreed deal.

Ken Clarke speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons
PA

"That is the crucial element of ensuring we deliver on Brexit."

Also on Wednesday, Justice Secretary David Gauke broke ranks by saying the Government should not be “boxed in” by old promises, such as Mrs May's rejection of a customs union with the European Union, something that Labour supports.

At PMQs, Mr Corbyn asked the Prime Minister to confirm that the Government was ruling out any form of customs union after talks with opposition MPs.

The Prime Minister replied with a list of red lines that would be upheld, with the customs union seemingly missed out.

She said the government would deliver on the 2016 referendum verdict and went on: “That means ending free movement, getting a fairer deal for farmers and fishermen, opening up new opportunities to trade with the rest of the world and keeping good ties with our neighbours in Europe.”

Opening the debate on a motion of no confidence, Mr Corbyn accused Theresa May of failing to reach out across party lines to come up with a solution.

Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons on Wednesday (PA)
PA/UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

"There has been no communication on all-party talks. All the Prime Minister said was she might talk to some members of the House," he told the Commons.

"That isn't reaching out. That is not recognising the scale of the defeat they suffered last night."

Responding to Mr Corbyn's no-confidence motion, Mrs May dismissed his call for a general election saying it would be "the worst thing we could do".

"It would deepen division when we need unity, it would bring chaos when we need certainty, and it would bring delay when we need to move forward," she told MPs.

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