Commons defeat looms as peers back ‘meaningful vote’ amendment

This time a week ago, Theresa May and her whips were trying to avert a looming Commons defeat on Brexit. As if the lengthy farce of the government trying to negotiate its way out of the European Union wasn’t surreal enough, the Prime Minister now seems trapped in one of those repetitive Hades-style punishments in which she is forced to go through the same miserable exercise over and over again. Except this time, after peers sent back the issue of a meaningful vote to the Commons again, it’s going to be even harder.

The Upper Chamber backed Viscount Hailsham’s amendment which roughly reflects what Dominic Grieve had been calling for by a significant majority of 119. The Tories may feel some comfort in that their majority in the Lords had increased just a little, but that is cold comfort at most: May now has to convince the very rebels she beckoned into her Commons office last Tuesday that this time she really will keep her word to them, even though they feel she broke it a week ago.