The House of Commons voted down Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday night in an unprecedented rejection of the government’s flagship policy that drastically worsens the political crisis in Westminster.



Her withdrawal agreement was opposed by 432 votes to 202, a historic margin of 230, which surpasses the previous record on a vote contested by the government set by Ramsay MacDonald’s minority Labour government in 1924 when it lost by 166 votes.

For the first time in history, more than 400 MPs voted against the government in the Commons.

In one of the largest postwar rebellions, 118 Conservative MPs opposed the deal.



The Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn immediately called a vote of no confidence in the government tomorrow. The Democratic Unionist Party, which opposed the Brexit deal, said it would support the government in the confidence vote. While May is expected to survive, defeat tomorrow could force a general election.

After the crushing defeat, the PM told the Commons she would not resign. “It is clear that the House does not support this deal. But tonight’s vote tells us nothing about what it does support. Nothing about how — or even if — it intends to honour the decision the British people took in a referendum Parliament decided to hold,” she said.

Responding, Corbyn told parliament: “This is a catastrophic defeat for this government. After two years of failed negotiations, the House of Commons has delivered its verdict on her Brexit deal and that verdict is absolutely decisive.”

The PM's official spokesperson later told journalists the government would reach out to senior parliamentarians in an attempt to ensure that the UK leaves with a deal, but signalled it would not offer the permanent customs union sought by Labour.

Corbyn's spokesperson said Labour would continue to push for an election and may bring forward subsequent confidence motions if tomorrow's vote is unsuccessful. They refused to commit to shifting support to a second referendum, reiterating Labour's conference policy that "all options" would remain on the table.

May is required to table a new motion within three days setting out how she plans to proceed. The motion can be amended by MPs seeking to put forward their own alternative Brexit plans.

The UK is now facing the possibility of having to extend Article 50 — the process that means it is due to leave the European Union on March 29 — as there is unlikely to be enough time for a Brexit agreement to pass through parliament by that date.

Remain-supporting rebels led by Tory backbencher Nick Boles are seeking to hand power over the Brexit process back to MPs with an unprecedented bill that would wrest control over the Commons order paper from the government.

European Council president Donald Tusk's spokesperson said: “We regret the outcome of the vote, and urge the UK Government to clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps as soon as possible."

He also confirmed BuzzFeed News' earlier story that the EU27 would not change its position and speed up preparations for no deal.

“We will continue our preparations for all outcomes, including a no-deal scenario. The risk of a disorderly exit has increased with this vote and, while we do not want this to happen, we will be prepared for it.

“We will continue the EU´s process of ratification of the agreement reached with the UK Government. This agreement is and remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.”

Brussels also dismissed suggestions that a special summit or reopening the deal could unlock the stalemate in Westminster.

Lines sent to the 27 capitals stated that “there is nothing more that the EU can do. The problem is in London, not in Brussels or the capitals of the 27. Hence, a meeting of the 27 right now serves no purpose.”

And although the EU was always ready to meet and to talk, Brussels reaffirmed that the European Council (in Article 50 composition) said in December that the Withdrawal Agreement, which was agreed by the UK government with the EU’s negotiator and endorsed by the EU27 Leaders, is not open for renegotiation.

In terms of the possibility of extending Article 50, the EU said there had been no UK request. Should there be one, “setting out the reasons for such an extension, it will be a matter for the EU27 to decide by unanimity.”

These were the 118 Conservatives who voted against the government:

Adam Afriyie

Lucy Allan

Heidi Allen

Sir David Amess

Richard Bacon

Steve Baker

John Baron

Guto Bebb

Bob Blackman

Crispin Blunt

Peter Bone

Ben Bradley

Sir Graham Brady

Suella Braverman

Andrew Bridgen

Fiona Bruce

Conor Burns

Sir William Cash

Maria Caulfield

Rehman Chishti

Sir Christopher Chope

Simon Clarke

Damian Collins

Robert Courts

Tracey Crouch

Philip Davies

David Davis

Nadine Dorries

Steve Double

Richard Drax

James Duddridge

Iain Duncan Smith

Charlie Elphicke

Nigel Evans

Sir David Evennett

Michael Fabricant

Sir Michael Fallon

Mark Francois

Marcus Fysh

Zac Goldsmith

James Gray

Chris Green

Justine Greening

Dominic Grieve

Sam Gyimah

Robert Halfon

Greg Hands

Mark Harper

Sir John Hayes

Gordon Henderson

Philip Hollobone

Adam Holloway

Eddie Hughes

Ranil Jayawardena

Sir Bernard Jenkin

Andrea Jenkyns

Boris Johnson

Gareth Johnson

Jo Johnson

David Jones

Daniel Kawczynski

Sir Greg Knight

John Lamont

Pauline Latham

Phillip Lee

Andrew Lewer

Julian Lewis

Ian Liddell-Grainger

Julia Lopez

Jonathan Lord

Tim Loughton

Craig Mackinlay

Anne Main

Scott Mann

Scott McPartland

Esther McVey

Johnny Mercer

Stephen Metcalfe

Nigel Mills

Andrew Mitchell

Damien Moore

Anne Marie Morris

Sheryll Murray

Matthew Offord

Priti Patel

Owen Paterson

Sir Mike Penning

Mark Pritchard

Tom Pursglove

Will Quince

Dominic Raab

Sir John Redwood

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Laurence Robertson

Andrew Rosindell

Douglas Ross

Lee Rowley

Grant Shapps

Henry Smith

Royston Smith

Anna Soubry

Bob Stewart

Julian Sturdy

Sir Hugo Swire

Sir Robert Syms

Derek Thomas

Ross Thomson

Michael Tomlinson

Craig Tracey

Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Shailesh Vara

Martin Vickers

Theresa Villiers

Giles Watling

John Whittingdale

Bill Wiggin

Sarah Wollaston