The Tory MPs who defied the government over the EU Withdrawal bill last night have defended their decision against a torrent of criticism and calls for their deselection - but warned of more to come.
Thursday 14 December 2017 8:58am
There have been calls for the Tory rebels to face immediate deselection (Source: Getty)
Theresa May suffered an embarrassing defeat on the eve of her trip to the European Council, where she will begin to set the framework for talks on trade and transition. After many hours of debate it was not clear until the final minute which way it would go - eventually she lost by just four votes.
The rebels were quickly condemned for their actions, with Nigel Evans accusing them of "treachery" and claiming they made the chances of a Corbyn government more likely.
Mid Bedfordshire MP Nadine Dorries echoed his comments, saying: "Tonight, the Tory rebels have put a spring in Labours step, given them a taste of winning, guaranteed the party a weekend of bad press, undermined the PM and devalued her impact in Brussels. They should be deselected and never allowed to stand as a Tory MP, ever again."
Stephen Hammond was one of the first to suffer for his actions, being promptly sacked as vice chairman of the party for London after he voted in favour of Dominic Grieve's amendment to clause nine.
On Twitter, Hammond said he was "disappointed" by the decision, but explained he had "put country and constituency before party and voted with my principles to give Parliament a meaningful vote".
Anna Soubry, who had been a particularly vocal supporter of Grieve's amendment, said: "I put the interests of everyone in the UK before party loyalty this evening."
"Tonight Parliament took control of the EU Withdrawal process," said fellow One Nation Tory Nicky Morgan.
For the government, last night's vote poses a real risk that further upsets on the EU Withdrawal Bill could be around the corner. Next week, MPs debate the inclusion of the date and time on the face of the bill, something which Grieve and others have repeatedly spoken out against.
Grieve and Hammond yesterday warned that May could have another defeat on her hands if she does not back down.
The government-backed amendment seeks to set in law that the UK’s membership of the union will end at 11pm GMT (midnight in Brussels) on 29 March 2019.
“I hope very much [another rebellion] won’t be necessary because if the government comes back with that date I’m sure the government will be defeated and I have no desire to defeat the government or be involved in the government’s defeat a second time,” Grieve told BBCNewsnight yesterday.
http://www.cityam.com/277522/brexit-rebels-defend-last-nights-vote-eu-withdrawal-bill
