Brexit news latest: Theresa May in Commons walkout as Jeremy Corbyn tables no confidence motion

James Morris17 December 2018
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Theresa May today walked out of the House of Commons after Jeremy Corbyn announced he would be tabling a no confidence motion in her.

On another day of Westminster drama, Mrs May got up from her seat and walked out of the chamber as soon as Mr Corbyn said he would table the motion.

However, Mr Corbyn's action is likely to end up being meaningless, as a debate on the motion would have to be allocated by the government itself.

It came after the Prime Minister said MPs would finally have the chance to decide on her Withdrawal Agreement when Parliament returns after Christmas. The vote will take place in the week beginning January 14.

Theresa May watches as Jeremy Corbyn announces he will table a motion of no confidence in her. She then got up and walked out of the chamber
AFP/Getty Images

Mrs May, who suffered another bruising session in Parliament as unhappy MPs from all sides lined up to attack her handling of Brexit, said: “It is now only just over 14 weeks until the UK leaves the EU and I know many members of this House are concerned that we need to take a decision soon.

"I can confirm today that we intend to return to the meaningful vote debate in the week commencing January 7 and hold the vote the following week."

The Prime Minister had pulled the vote on Tuesday last week as she faced a humiliating defeat. On Monday, she threatened MPs with the possibility of a no deal Brexit if they reject her deal next month.

"Avoiding 'no deal' is only possible,” she said, “if we can reach an agreement or if we abandon Brexit entirely.”

Jeremy Corbyn listens to Theresa May in the Commons on Monday
AFP/Getty Images

There was chaos in the Labour ranks as leader Jeremy Corbyn initially backed away from his threat to table a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister. He then performed a U-turn, of sorts, hours later.

The Islington North MP had threatened to table a motion of no confidence in her if she did not set a date for the vote. The motion wasn't tabled when Mrs May announced the timetable.

However, a couple of hours later, Mr Corbyn backtracked and announced he would be tabling a vote of no confidence in Mrs May after all, “for refusing to bring forward the meaningful vote immediately”. This prompted the Prime Minister's dramatic walkout.

But the wording of the motion, targeted at Mrs May rather than the government as a whole, would not trigger the process set out under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which could eventually lead to a general election. And a debate can only be granted if the government allocates it time.

Theresa May listens as Jeremy Corbyn speaks in the Commons on Monday
AFP/Getty Images

A European Research Group source, which has opposed Mrs May as strongly as Mr Corbyn’s Labour Party, said members of the backbench Tory Brexiteer collective would "of course be voting with the government on this meaningless Labour motion".

Meanwhile, Mrs May suffered another blow as the European Commission said it is not planning any more meetings on her demands to clarify the Northern Ireland backstop.

A spokesman in Brussels claimed the Brexit deal on the table would not be changed and went further by saying there were no more talks in the pipeline.

“The EU Council has given the clarifications that were possible at this stage,” the spokesman said, “so no further meetings with the UK are foreseen.”

The statement came as Downing Street insisted officials were continuing to work to get the clarifications that the Prime Minister requested at a summit last week.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in