(Photo: Reuters TV via Reuters)

Theresa May suffered another humiliating defeat last night, with her Brexit deal soundly trashed by the combined forces of Tory leavers, the DUP and remainers.

Her public dressing down was almost too excruciating to watch.

While MPs from all sides cheered, and I’m sure some particularly cruel and disloyal Tory MPs popped more champagne after another rout for their leader, the reality remains that we are still mere days away from the dreaded no-deal Brexit crash out.

A day that in Whitehall, and up and down the country, we are simply not prepared for.


Even the most loyal ministers know now that the government have lost control of what comes next. Far from clinging on to her Brexit deal, the prime minister is barely clinging on to her own job.



Parliament must now prove it can succeed where the government failed.

MPs must and will move fast and act decisively. That’s why I am confident that this week, the horrific spectre of a no-deal Brexit will be rejected once and for all.

Indeed, any MP who votes against ruling out no-deal must, at the next election, look their constituents in the eye and say, ‘I voted to make the UK poorer, less secure and inflict chaos on an unprecedented level.’

We can reject stockpiles of medicine, tailbacks stretching across the south coast and hundreds of thousands of jobs put in jeopardy. We can put to bed the nostalgic dream of the Hard Brexiteers to turn the UK into a cheap-rate Singapore.

Indeed, any MP who votes against ruling out no-deal must, at the next election, look their constituents in the eye and say, ‘I voted to make the UK poorer, less secure and inflict chaos on an unprecedented level.’

I don’t know who could do this if they really cared for their constituents.

After this comes the vote on the Article 50 extension, the final piece of the jigsaw needed to avert no-deal.

The significance of this vote cannot be underplayed, as regardless of how many times MPs reject no-deal, or God forbid the PM’s deal in a rumoured third meaningful vote, the UK creeps hour by hour closer to March 29th.

Without this extension, the runway will continue to feel shorter, skyrocketing uncertainty and creating panic. If the government whip against a sensible extension, then any semblance of a duty towards the public will have been shattered forever, as will the image of the Tory party.

But we need a purpose for extending Article 50. The EU certainly requires one.

For the last two years it’s been clear that Jeremy Corbyn and Labour haven’t a clue how to deliver a Brexit deal better than the one the UK currently holds right now.

That’s because no Brexit deal can be better than the current deal we have as members of the EU, and any attempt at fresh talks on a new offer will only restart the whole merry-go-round we are circling on now, which the country is frankly sick and dizzy from.

That’s why an extension of Article 50 can only be for one thing, a People’s Vote. I’m proud that the Liberal Democrats have led the campaign for a People’s Vote for over two years, and I’m even prouder that the majority of the country now clearly back our call.



It is the only real escape route from a divisive and damaging Brexit, and once this week’s votes are under our belts, I’m confident that we will secure it.

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