The government’s majority this evening fell just a little more, as Caroline Spelman joined the rebels to vote in favour of legislation forcing an extension to the Brexit deadline. This latest defeat, 329 in favour of the bill and 300 against, was not a surprise in itself. But it is interesting that Spelman, who backed the government last night, has decided that she should turn against it today.
However, government sources are saying that she will not lose the party whip like her colleagues who rebelled yesterday. The vote on taking control of the Order Paper last night was treated as a confidence issue, hence the round of expulsions. All those ex-Tory MPs report being treated with some brutality by their former party machine, clearly underlining that this isn’t supposed to be a temporary suspension of the whip.
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