As many as 12 Labour MPs are now “willing to countenance” a no-deal Brexit, according to BBC Newsnight Political Editor Nick Watt.

Speaking last night, Watt warned that growing numbers of Labour rebels were making it difficult to find the numbers in Parliament to block no deal.

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He said that there are around six Tory MPs who are willing to stand in the way of the future Prime Minister if he decides to take Britain tumbling off the no-deal cliff.

However, this is well short of the 16 Tory MPs that are needed to counterbalance the growing ranks of Labour backbenchers willing to drive through no deal.

This tricky arithmetic was seen last month. An attempt by opposition parties to block a no-deal Brexit by seizing control of the Commons agenda was defeated by 309 votes to 298 after eight Labour MPs defied the party whip.

They were: Kevin Barron, Ronnie Campbell, Jim Fitzpatrick, Caroline Flint, Stephen Hepburn, Kate Hoey, John Mann and Graham Stringer.



This group is now expanding, which means more Conservative MPs urgently need to stand up to block an impending no-deal catastrophe.

We’re now in a situation where Labour MPs, who claim to represent working-class communities, could force through a type of Brexit that – according to detailed economic modelling – will damage the most neglected areas of the country. Welcome to British politics in 2019.