At 9.20pm BST, MPs went into their voting lobbies yet again on Wednesday night, this time to vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s motion to hold early elections.
Johnson’s motion requires two-thirds of the commons to approve his call for an early election as per the Fixed-Term Parliament Act. Two-thirds of the house, namely 434 MPs, must vote for the motion for it to be approved. In the debate prior to the vote, leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn was adamant that Labour would not support this call for an early election, likening it to the “poison of a no-deal.”
The Commons rejected the motion for the early election, as only 298 voted for the motion against 56 voting against it. Labour’s policy was to abstain.
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson also took to speaking during the debate, during which a member of the Commons called to her to “sit down, love” in a moment of shocking sexism.
British MPs have voted on amendments to the Brexit delay bill put forward by opposition lawmakers and Tory rebels earlier on Wednesday. At 5pm BST the second vote on the bill revealed a majority of 29, with 329 MPs supporting the bill vs the 300 against the bill.
The final vote in the House of Commons, following debates on amendments to the bill, has come out with a result of 327 in support and 299 against.
Prior to the third reading of the bill – where MPs vote on the bill for a third and final time – there appeared to be considerable confusion in the votes on the bill’s amendments at around 7.30 pm BST. It appears that Labour MP Stephen Kinnock won his amendment purely on the basis that no teller was found for the other side. The amendment details that if the prime minister requests an extension to article 50 – for whatever reason – then government policy is to get an extension to pass a version of Theresa May’s deal. Commentators are unclear whether this amendment was passed by accident or intentionally as part of a plot.
The next step is for the bill to go to the House of Lords for approval on Thursday, but estimations show that the bill could be subject to debates through the weekend if opponents succeed in filibustering (debating over a proposed piece of legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision being made). Peers have shown their commitment to debating the legislation by arriving for the session with duvets, pillows, extra clothing, and toiletries. Brexiteer peers tabled an unprecedented 92 amendments to the Labour motion that would have ensured the bill passes on Friday.
If the bill does eventually pass through the House of Lords before Parliament is suspended, it would then receive Royal Assent from the Queen.
Next on the parliamentary agenda is Prime Minister Johnson’s motion for an early election, which will be debated by MPs for 90 minutes. The opposition has made it clear that it will not support Johnson’s motion, which means that the prime minister will not get the two-thirds majority required to make an early election go ahead.
329 MPs voted in favour of Labour MP Hilary Benn’s motion to block a no-deal Brexit.
British lawmakers’ bid to prevent a no-deal Brexit next month cleared a crucial hurdle Wednesday after they voted by a majority of 29 to demand that Prime Minister Boris Johnson seek a delay.
MPs will need to vote again on the bill later in the day, when the numbers are expected to be similar, before it heads to the upper House of Lords for approval. The bill has now moved to the committee stage.
A majority of 329 MPs voted against the government to push through the bill, with only 300 MPs backing the UK government. On Tuesday, Johnson’s government lost its working majority as former Conservative Dr Philip Lee crossed the chamber to join the Liberal Democrats in opposition.
Concerns surround the debates in the House of Lords, where peers fear government-backing colleagues may attempt to filibuster proceedings, which is to say delay the vote by discussing amendments and ensure it does get through the Lords before Parliament is prorogued.
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Wednesday in embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, insisting: “He knows how to win.”
Johnson faces a revolt in the House of Commons over the possibility of a no deal exit from the European Union, but Trump told reporters his friend was “going to be okay.”
“Boris is a friend of mine, and he’s going at it. There’s no question about it,” he said.
“I watched him this morning. He’s in there fighting. He knows how to win. Boris knows how to win. Don’t worry about him. He’s going to be okay.”
British MPs inflict new defeat on Johnson’s Brexit strategy
Earlier on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson challenged his Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn to vote in favour of an early election on October 15 later on Wednesday.
In a heated parliamentary debate, Johnson said that if Corbyn voted in favour of a draft law against the government’s Brexit strategy then he should also support an election to “allow the people of this country to have their view”.
No deal to occur at EU Summit: EU pours cold water on Johnson’s Brexit strategy
Party implosion: UK Tories in ‘unprecedented’ disarray over Brexit
