John Connolly John Connolly

MPs reject Labour’s plan to block a no-deal Brexit

MPs have voted to reject, by 309 votes to 298, an opposition day motion which would have attempted to stop Britain leaving without a deal on 31 October.

The motion, put forward by Jeremy Corbyn, Vince Cable, Oliver Letwin and other representatives of the opposition parties, attempted to carve out a day in the parliamentary calendar on 25 June, when backbench MPs would have taken control of the House of Commons timetable. The backbench MPs would then have been able to put forward legislation which could have blocked a prime minister, such as Boris Johnson or Dominic Raab, taking Britain out of the EU without a deal against the wishes of parliament.

The fact that this motion did not pass today is a blow to the opponents of no deal. Although there will likely be opportunities in future for them to attempt to prevent a no-deal Brexit, at present this means Britain will still legally leave the EU on 31 October – unless a new Withdrawal Agreement is negotiated with the EU, another extension is agreed, or Article 50 is revoked.

However, MPs behind the attempts to prevent a no-deal Brexit insist that if it looks likely that the next prime minister is about to take Britain out on 31 October – in the absence of an agreed deal with the European Union – they are confident they will be able to stop them.

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