He was asked how he would vote in a second, three-question referendum on Brexit.
Plus: I’m still backing Brexit. The Independent Group’s Tory targets. And: it’s a disgrace that public money is being spent on the European elections.
“There is a small cabal that sees each election cycle as a reason to have another go.”
It passed its Third Reading by a single vote. Now the former Labour Minister’s anti-No Deal Bill is off to the Lords.
The list includes the three who resigned from the Government this evening – and Green, one of the Prime Minister’s oldest allies.
The proposal was rejected by 314 votes to 311. Boles, Gyimah, Spelman and Vaizey were among those to rebel. Plus Brine and Harrington.
A dedicated band of Conservative pro-Brexit holdouts stands ready to perish rather than let May’s deal pass.
By longstanding convention the Speaker casts his vote for the status quo. But would he?
Halfon and Stevenson join the Europhile ultras in a very near miss for the Government.
Two of them, Sarah Newton and Paul Masterton, were members of the Government, and have resigned.
Several Ministers helped to see off the Government’s best hope of avoiding a full-on crisis in the Party – and perhaps of saving Brexit too.
There aren’t any surprises here, although on a grim night the Government at least appear to have talked two of its original signatories out of backing it.
I’m told that one aggravation was the feeing that the MP was trying to downplay support for a second referendum.
The logic of his position was that the UK was leaving by March 29th. It hasn’t changed. The Government’s has. So he’s gone.