MPs backed a Bill giving Theresa May authority to invoke Article 50 - but 114 MPs opposed it and Jeremy Corbyn was rocked by a rebellion
- 19:32, 1 FEB 2017
- UPDATED07:52, 2 FEB 2017
THE MOMENT MPS VOTED TO BACK ARTICLE 50 BILL
Britain took a major step towards leaving the EU tonight as MPs backed triggering Brexit by a landslide.
The House of Commons voted 498-114 for a Bill giving Theresa May authority to invoke Article 50, which begins Britain's two-year EU exit.
MPs also defeated an SNP bid to block Article 50 by 336 votes to 100.
But Jeremy Corbyn was rocked by last-minute resignations from his shadow cabinet as Labour remained desperately divided.
A total of 47 Labour MPs, about a quarter of those who voted, opted to try and block Brexit. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott abstained, but initial reports suggested she was ill.
Shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler and shadow environment secretary Rachael Maskell both quit so they could vote against triggering Article 50.
Ms Butler said to back the "poor excuse of a Bill" would "let down future generations" while Ms Maskell warned Theresa May's Brexit "goes far beyond just leaving the European Union".
The Labour leader subjected his MPs to a top-level 'three-line' whip and said shadow cabinet rebels must resign.
But a source had said he would "decide later" if junior frontbenchers who rebelled must do the same.
The landmark vote came after two days of long and emotional debate which saw MPs make passionate arguments for and against leaving Europe.
It was the first of two votes on the so-called "Article 50 Bill", a two-sentence law that will let Theresa May pull the trigger for Britain's two-year journey to leave the EU.
She was forced to allow the debate by the Supreme Court and the final vote, after a committee stage, will be next Wednesday.
Brexit Secretary David Davis opened the debate by warning it's a "very simple question: do we trust the people or not?”
But the Bill's short length and timetable prompted fury among MPs who wanted longer to scrutinise it before March 31, Mrs May's deadline to invoke Article 50.
So too did the delay over a Brexit White Paper detailing the government's plans, which will now be published tomorrow.
In one barnstorming speech, Tory veteran Ken Clarke compared the PM's trade fantasies to Alice in Wonderland.
KENNETH CLARKE'S BARNSTORMING SPEECH ON TRIGGERING ARTICLE 50
Furious SNP MP Angus MacNeil said: "The UK is boldly going where even North Korea fears to go."
Labour MP Rupa Huq warned: "There may be a crock of something at the end of the rainbow - it just may not be gold."
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer admitted the Bill was "difficult for Labour" but said Article 50 must go ahead, adding: “The result was not technical. It was deeply political.”
Closing the debate, Shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman warned it would be to "hide from the truth" to pretend there weren't dangers ahead.
"Xenophobia, fear and isolationism are downing out our values of inclusion, hope and tolerance," she declared.
"It is more important than ever to stand beside those values."
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She vowed to fight "not for the 48%, not for the 52%, but for the 100% of people in Britain."
Former Chancellor George Osborne told MPs the referendum had cost him his job but said he would now be voting in favour of leaving the EU.
Not to do so, he added, would trigger a "deep constitutional crisis" and pit "Parliament against the people".
In a speech which was also critical of Theresa May, Mr Osborne said the PM has chosen "not to make the economy the priority".
He warned the looming Brexit talks will be "bitter" and said ministers must "be well-briefed and pack a pack of Pro Plus - because there are going to be many long nights ahead."
GEORGE OSBORNE WARNS MPS THEY WILL NEED PRO PLUS FOR LONG NIGHTS NEGOTIATING BREXIT
Other pro-Remain MPs spoke of their fears for Britain's future direction.
Jo Stevens, one of the Labour frontbenchers who quit, said the child of a German constituent had been "spat at and told to go home" in primary school and condemned ex-PM David Cameron for abandoning his responsiiblities.
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond said politicians had been gripped by "mad MP disease" over Brexit and were now taking "the entire country into the hole".
Tory MP Nicky Morgan, the former Education Secretary, added: "Never in my adult life have I felt so concerned about the stability and the state of the world in which we live. I have to say with the Brexit vote we have added to that instability."
"I can go along with the Prime Minister that Brexit means Brexit but I cannot go along with the idea that Brexit means Trump," he said.
Yet Tory Remainer Anna Soubry condemned Labour for "turning their backs on their long-standing belief in the free movement of people".
She added: “For the party opposite to go against everything it ever believed in is really quite shameful."
Walking out to vote on the SNP amendment, Theresa May chatted with Sir Nicholas Soames.
Many Labour MPs including Jeremy Corbyn sat on the green benches abstaining.
When it came to the main vote, Tory MP Chloe Smith carried her baby through the chamber, encouraged by Speaker John Bercow.
Former Cabinet Minister and leading Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith asked: "Does that count as two votes?"
The bill will now pass to the Lords as Theresa May looks to get it through Parliament in time to trigger Article 50 before her deadline of March 31.
