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Yesterday the madness of Brexit descended on Parliament and few escaped its grip.



MPs finally proved they were in touch with the mood of the country by failing to agree on a single Brexit option .



The Prime Minister offered her resignation to speed the path of her Brexit deal only to find the road remains blocked by the DUP.



And various Tory MPs showed their casual contempt for principle by announcing at one moment they were opposed to Theresa May’s deal and in another they were its most ardent supporter.



There have been few more grotesque sights in recent politics than Boris Johnson abandoning all his previous objections in order to further his leadership ambitions .

(Image: Getty Images)

Five Brexit facts you need to know today





Remember, this was a man who likened May’s deal to strapping a “suicide vest” to the UK .



Johnson is beyond shame but his actions only damage further the public’s trust in politics.



On a decision that will affect this country for decades to come, his vote is being cast not on principle but on personal advancement.



It would need a heart of stone not to laugh at the fact his volte face may be in vain given that Mrs May’s deal now looks doomed.

We now have the prospect of the Conservative Party turning inwards while contenders jostle for leadership.



(Though the date of Mrs May's departure could be delayed now there is little prospect of any immediate resolution to Brexit.)



The reason the Brexiteers agitated for May’s departure is because they want to shape what happens in the next stage of the negotiations.

(Image: Pixel8000)





The Political Declaration drawn up by the Prime Minister is a wish list that can be torn up by her successor in favour of a much harder Brexit.



Any promises made to Labour MPs on workers’ and environmental rights are now meaningless which means the Prime Minister will find it even harder to win opposition MPs to her side.



That is, of course, if May can get her withdrawal agreement through Parliament.



Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom is expected to reveal this morning whether the Government will hold a third meaningful vote tomorrow.



Without the support of the DUP, with whom talks continue, it is impossible to see how it has any chance of passing.



There are at least four Tory remainer MPs and a diehard group of 15 Tory Brexiteers - “the Spartans” - who will never vote for the deal.



That would leave her reliant on Labour MPs to get her vote through.



In previous votes the maximum number of Labour MPs (including former Labour MPs Ian Austin and Frank Field sitting as independents) to back the Government on Brexit is 11.



As mentioned above, the PM is going to struggle to win over more Labour MPs now they know the next stage of the negotiations could be led by a Brexiteer PM.

The Speaker threw another spanner in the works yesterday by not only reminding the Prime Minister that not only would there have to be substantial changes for her to retable the withdrawal agreement but that she could not use a paving motion to get round his edict.

(Image: REUTERS)





As it stands she has nothing new to add that would amount to a significant change.



All of this is taking place against the ticking of the clock.



The terms of the extension granted by the EU stated the Government had to get her withdrawal agreement through Parliament by March 29 “at the latest”.



If she fails to get her deal through then we have until April 12 to come up with another plan, the EU says.



That could emerge on Monday when MPs will cast preferential votes on the choices thrown up by last night’s indicative votes.



But an exercise which was supposed to find consensus only served to show how bitterly divided both main parties are on Brexit .



Today's agenda:



9.30am - Michael Gove takes Defra questions in the Commons.



10.30am - Andrea Leadsom gives regular update on House of Commons business.



11.30am - General debates on the pub industry and then on fracking.



What I am reading:



Alastair Campbell’s interview with George Osborne . I know, this will not to be to everyone’s taste.