Key points

Jeremy Corbyn started by saying Theresa May’s intransigence had brought parliament to a national crisis. He said he had met members across the house to find a compromise and was going to Brussels on Thursday. Would May meet him to discuss this? May said it was a bit rich for Corbyn to call for a meeting today when he had been refusing one for days. She accused Labour MPs of wanting to avoid Brexit.

Corbyn said the CBI said the vote to extend article 50 was a dose of common sense. Would May compromise? May said the Commons had voted on and rejected leaving with no deal, Labour’s deal and a customs union. It wanted a deal, she said.

Corbyn said Labour’s plan got more support in the Commons than May’s. The EU has said it would only allow an extension for a clear purpose. Corbyn asked May what it is. She replied he would know if he had listened to her first answer.

Corbyn said May proposed meaningful vote 3 (MV3). But the Commons rejected this and accused May of being reckless. May said she had no idea what Labour wanted. She said she was opposed to a long extension. It would mean taking part in the European elections, and it would mean days of the Commons contemplating its navel on Europe. She said the Commons had indulged itself on Europe for too long.

May accused Corbyn of disrespecting democracy by wanting to hold a second referendum. Corbyn said Wednesday marked 1,000 days since the referendum. May was running down the clock, he said. But she has failed to convince MPs that her deal was anything other than a failure. People were frustrated by her approach. Would May give the public a chance to reject the deal and vote out the government?

May said Corbyn’s answer showed he did not respect the referendum result.

Snap verdict

Sometimes the PMQs experience is so wretched for a prime minister that you wonder why they don’t curl up and hide under the dispatch box. Any normal human being would. But, somehow, Theresa May managed to keep going – a tribute either to her fortitude, her stubbornness or her detachment from reality, according to your perspective.

But even admirers would have to concede that her authority is shot. May’s central problem is that she has abandoned a stance she was defending just last Wednesday (see 10.32am) and, even though she has U-turned under pressure from Brexiters, they were damning, horrified at the prospect of even a short article 50 extension. (Eg, see Peter Bone at 12.27pm and Richard Drax at 12.45pm.) But remainers were damning too. In fact, on Brexit, not a single MP stood up to defend her.

Jeremy Corbyn’s broad-brush critique was perfectly sound, but his decision to start by asking for a meeting today was ill-advised (because May was entitled to respond that he has been dodging a meeting for weeks) and, considering the extent of May’s humiliation, he did not really make the most of the opportunity available. Ian Blackford’s questions were more focused. But the most memorable interventions came from the Labour old guard, especially Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper, pleading desperately for the house to allowed some sort of indicative votes procedure. To no avail ...

Memorable lines

Theresa May:

The outcome of a long extension would be endless hours and days of this house carrying on contemplating its navel on Europe and failing to address the issues that matter to our constituents. This house has indulged itself on Europe for too long … [the British people] deserve better than what this house has given them so far.

Jeremy Corbyn: