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Thanks to Theresa May’s hard work, tonight’s vote on the European Arrest Warrant was looking to be a reasonably downbeat affair, with around 30 Tory rebels expected and the package of justice and home affairs opt-ins due to pass on the strength of government payroll and Labour votes. But things escalated rather quickly once MPs were inside the Chamber. All weekend there had been confusion about whether the vote on the European Arrest Warrant was indeed a vote on the European Arrest Warrant or simply one on the 11 measures that the House of Commons has never formally supported before. Before the debate on the motion allocating more time to MPs to discuss the opt-ins began, Speaker Bercow gave a statement clarifying what the vote would be on. And it wouldn’t be on the European Arrest Warrant, he said.
Uproar ensued. The debate became mired in angry points of order from MPs from across the Commons who felt the government was treating Parliament appallingly. Not one MP spoke in favour of the way Theresa May and Chris Grayling were handling things. The whips ran in and out and held feverish conversations on the frontbench as more and more backbenchers lined up to denounce the motion. Yvette Cooper, who often struggles to knock any spots off Theresa May, was on fine angry form, showing the rest of her party how to capitalise on a government shambles.
In the end, the house divided on the motion extending the amount of time for debate to 10pm. Whips on both sides had been frantically summoning ministers from every corner. They just about managed it, with the government winning by just nine votes – 251 ayes and 242 noes.
It hasn’t finished. Labour has just called for Theresa May to withdraw the motion entirely and allow a vote on all 35 measures. We will bring full updates on Coffee House as this debate continues.
To summarise the different positions between Theresa May and John Bercow (and the rest of the Commons): Bercow says today’s vote is not on the European Arrest Warrant, while May says today’s vote is the best opportunity for MPs to express their views on the warrant, even though it cannot technically be mentioned in the motion. If you’re not confused, you haven’t been following this sufficiently closely.
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