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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Chris Grayling survives no confidence vote in House of Commons - Politics live

Chris Grayling, the transport secretary.
Chris Grayling, the transport secretary. Photograph: Dinendra Haria/REX/Shutterstock

Afternoon summary

  • Labour has said that Chris Grayling’s credibility as transport secretary will “never recover” in the light of the recent rail timetable chaos. Opening a debate on an opposition day motion of no confidence in Grayling, Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said:

I am afraid the breach of faith and trust is so great that the secretary of state’s credibility will never recover. There comes a point where the publicly accountable politician in charge of the railways should step up and shoulder the blame. It seems to me, and I suspect to many rail users, that we have more than reached that.

But Grayling hit back saying Labour’s policy was “confused”. He said:

For years the opposition have demanded that the railways are re-nationalised and run by the Government and they’ve claimed they’d be run much better if they were. Now it appears they think the railways are already run by the Government and if something goes wrong it’s down to us.

The Labour motion was defeated by a majority of 20. But Conservative MPs did not turn out to support Grayling in large numbers, and Labour has obtained some useful local newspaper ammunition to use against Tory MPs in areas affected by the rail chaos who will now have explain why they voted against a motion saying Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway should have their franchises terminated.

  • Grayling has said he will seriously consider taking new powers to intervene to protect commuters affected by travel disruption. In the debate Sir Michael Fallon, the Conservative former defence secretary, asked him:

Given that, whatever the ownership, these are essential public services getting our constituents to work and getting their children to school. Would [Grayling] consider taking stronger powers for himself in times of disruption that would allow him to direct the rail operators to work more closely together or to put additional stops in to help those who simply can’t get to work in the morning?

Grayling replied: “This is something we will have to look at very seriously indeed.”

  • A leak of the draft conclusions from next week’s EU summit says that “no substantial progress” has been made on the Irish backstop plan and that EU states should intensify preparations for a no deal Brexit, the Financial Times’ George Parker has reported.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Updated

There was a mistake in the original post at 4.12pm about the Ashcroft polling. It suggests a majority of leave voters would rather choose Brexit than keeping the UK together, not a majority of all voters. I’ve corrected that now. Sorry.

MPs are voting now on the Labour motion of no confidence in Chris Grayling, the transport secretary. Appropriately enough, there has been a delay. Eleanor Laing, the deputy speaker, is in the chair and she says there has been a hold-up because of a lift that was full in one of the buildings on the parliament estate, delaying an MP in a wheelchair trying to get to the chamber to vote. After (in her own words) filibustering from the chair for a bit, to give extra time for the MP to arrive, she announces that it’s time to shut the doors to the division lobbies.

Most leave voters, especially Tories, would rather choose Brexit than keeping UK together, poll suggests

Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative deputy chairman turned polling guru, has published a lengthy report, based on polls and focus groups, looking at public attitudes to Brexit and the union. There is a summary here and the full 50-page report is here (pdf). There is a lot of interesting material in it. Here are four of the key findings.

1 - British voters are more likely to favour leaving the customs union than avoiding a hard border in Ireland, the poll suggests. This is particularly true of Conservative voters.

Polling on leaving customs union v avoiding hard border in Ireland
Polling on leaving customs union v avoiding hard border in Ireland Photograph: Lord Ashcroft

Here is the historian Robert Saunders on this finding.

2 - A majority of voters in Northern Ireland think Brexit has made Irish unification more likely, the poll suggests. Presumably these 59% are in a better position to judge than the 27% of GB voters who think Irish unification has become more likely.

Polling on whether Brexit has made Irish unification more likely
Polling on whether Brexit has made Irish unification more likely Photograph: Lord Ashcroft

3 - A majority of leave voters (63%) would, if forced to choose, prefer to go ahead with Brexit than to keep England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together in the United Kingdom, the poll suggests. That figure is even higher amongst Conservative leave voters (73%), even though the Conservatives pride themselves on being the Conservative and Unionist party.

Polling on Brexit v keeping UK together
Polling on Brexit v keeping UK together Photograph: Lord Ashcroft

4 - More than a third of voters would support continuing the transition up to 2023 if that was needed to ensure the right post-Brexit arrangements are in place, the poll suggests.

Polling on delaying EU withdrawal
Polling on delaying EU withdrawal Photograph: Lord Ashcroft

Updated

Here are two Brexit-related blogs that are well worth reading.

Accounting for the nine or so Labour MPs who will likely either vote with the government or abstain tomorrow, Grieve will need around 14 Conservative MPs to defy the whip if his amendment is to pass.

Here is where it gets tricky: beyond himself, Anna Soubry, Ken Clarke, Sarah Wollaston and a couple of others, such as the recently resigned Philip Lee, Grieve cannot count on anywhere near that many of his colleagues as a matter of course. Nor can the bill be amended by the usual suspects alone. The best illustration of this is the Daily Telegraph front page which coined the “mutineers” descriptor for Tory rebels last November. Most of the MPs pictured did not then have a reputation as rebels or dyed-in-the-wool Europhiles but had been convinced that aspects of the bill needed improving for the sake of the national interest.

The problem for Grieve now is selling the meaningful vote as one such necessary improvement. I understand it is proving difficult. “They won’t have the numbers,” one of those MPs pictured on the Telegraph front page told me yesterday. “Most of us think the government’s amendment is fine. Dominic is a great legal mind, but politically, he’s got this all wrong.”

The bill itself outlining the shape of post-Brexit immigration policy is seen by some as a card the UK needs to play in the negotiations on a future relationship. To the annoyance of David Davis and others, those discussions look to some like they could take part during the transition period and not much will necessarily be tidied up by the end of this year as the withdrawal agreement is ratified.

For some that opens up the alarming possibility that the government could be thinking of conceding ground on immigration policy as part of the negotiation on a future relationship. One senior Vote Leave figure believes that the government’s chief negotiator is working towards a plan that ties Britain into something that looks an awful lot like freedom of movement beside a plan to stay in something a lot like the customs union and the single market for goods. Theresa May has, of course, ruled that out but some Vote Leave veterans aren’t her biggest admirers.

Ineos loses legal challenge against fracking 'ban' in Scotland

Petrochemical giant Ineos has lost its legal challenge to the Scottish government’s effective “ban” on fracking, the Press Association reports. Ineos and Aberdeen firm ReachCSG took Scottish ministers to court seeking a judicial review of their decision to convert a moratorium on the controversial gas extraction technique into an indefinite, effective ban. They had asked the court of session to declare that Scottish ministers acted unlawfully in doing so, arguing they exceeded their powers and lacked the legal competence to impose such a ban. However during the hearing in May, the Scottish Government lawyer suggested ministers had simply announced a preferred stance on the matter and the policy-making process on the issue should be allowed to continue.

As the Press Association reports, in his ruling, published today, Lord Pentland found that, as a matter of law, there is no prohibition against fracking in Scotland. He said the Ineos stance was based on a “series of fundamental misunderstandings of the Scottish government’s position” and refused the challenge.

Prospect magazine has published some interesting polling on how the Conservative party is perceived. It is not very flattering. Here are some of the key figures.

Polling on how Conservatives are perceived
Polling on how Conservatives are perceived Photograph: Prospect magazine

Anna Soubry, one of the Conservative pro-Europeans who have rebelled over the EU withdrawal bill, thinks MailOnline are out to undermine her ahead of tomorrow’s Commons showdown on the “meaningful vote”.

Here is Hannah Deacon responding with emotion as she hears the news live on ITV that Sajid Javid is granting a licence for her son, Alfie Dingley, for cannabis oil. (See 1.05pm.)

Lunchtime summary

  • Sajid Javid has shown fresh evidence of his willingness to overturn Theresa May’s legacy at the Home Office by announcing a review of the medicinal use of cannabis. In a statement to the Commons, he said that the current rules were “not satisfactory” and that he supported the parents of children like Alfie Dingley and Billy Caldwell who, in trying to obtain cannabis oil for their epileptic children, were “following a gut parental instinct to do whatever is in their power to try and alleviate their child’s suffering”. Announcing the review, he said:

The government review will take place in 2 parts.

Part one of the commission will consider the evidence available for the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of cannabis-based medicines.

Professor Sally Davies, who also serves as the chief medical officer, will take this part forward.

This would then inform exactly which forms of cannabis or cannabis-based medicines should be taken forward in Part 2.

Part 2 will be led by the advisory council on the misuse of drugs (ACMD).

The ACMD will not reassess the evidence issued by Professor Sally Davies, but will provide an assessment, based on the balance of harms and public health needs, of what, if anything, should be rescheduled.

If the review identified that there are significant medical benefits then we do intend to reschedule.

We have seen in recent months that there is a pressing need to allow those who might benefit from cannabis-based products to access them.

Javid’s announcement was welcomed by MPs from all sides in the Commons, with the Tory Sir Desmond Swayne telling him: “Clinical leadership may have its place but for years the crying need has been for political leadership, so can I thank [Javid] ... for providing it.” Javid announced the review only 24 hours after May, his predecessor but one as home secretary, played down the need for a review, saying there was a “very good reason” for the current rules being in place. In his short period in office Javid has already abandoned May’s policy on visa rules for doctors coming to work in the UK from outside the EU and distanced himself from her “hostile environment” rhetoric on illegal immigration, and today’s move will be seen as further evidence that he is asserting his independence and authority in a way that will boost his chances in a future Conservative leadership contest.

According to Sky’s Lewis Goodall, government sources are saying Theresa May was not resistant to Sajid Javid’s decision to review the law on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes - even though yesterday May sounded distinctly unenthusiastic about the whole idea.

Javid’s announcement is winning support from MPs from all sides in the Commons.

Here are tweets from MPs who are backing his decision.

From Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary

From the Conservative MP Bob Seely

From the Conservative MP George Freeman

From the Labour MP Stephen Doughty

From the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard

This is from Tim Colbourne, policy director at Open Reason, Nick Clegg’s thinktank, on the announcement.

Javid says that he wants “action now” on this matter, not at some point far ahead in the future.

Here is ITV’s Robert Peston on Sajid Javid’s announcement.

Here is the start of the Press Association story about Javid’s statement.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced a review of the medicinal use of cannabis which could lead to patients in the UK being prescribed drugs derived from the banned plant.

Javid announced the move in a statement to the House of Commons in the wake of a series of appeals from parents who want their children to be able to access medications which can alleviate epilepsy and other illnesses.

The home secretary announced that he had authorised a licence to be issued on Tuesday for six-year-old Alfie Dingley, after his mother said she had been waiting three months for prime minister Theresa May to fulfil a personal assurance that he would be allowed to receive cannabis oil.

Speaking to the House of Commons, Javid stressed that the class B drug would remain banned for recreational use.

Javid says Sally Davies has said she can complete her work “in days”.

Javid says it is estimated that there are around 10,000 children in the UK who have a drug-resistant form of epilepsy.

On the Today programme this morning Hannah Deacon, the mother of Alfie Dingley, the six-year-old with epilepsy, said that Theresa May had told her three months ago that her request for her son to be allowed to be treated with cannabis oil would be resolved quickly and on “a compassionate basis”. But Deacon said that the family had faced “hurdles after hurdles after hurdles” in seeking to get a permit for him to be treated with cannabis oil legally in the UK.

Deacon told the programme:

I met the prime minister on March 20 in Number 10. I appealed to her directly. She looked at me. She met my son and she told me that they would find a way in which our clinicians could be issued with a Schedule 1 licence to give my son the medicine that he had in Holland. I believed her.

She also answered questions at PMQs and she said to MPs that our application would be allowed on compassionate basis and it would be dealt with speedily.

That was three months ago. All that we have been put through is bureaucracy, hurdles - hurdles after hurdles after hurdles - changes in what they want, saying to us ‘This isn’t good enough but we can’t tell you what we want because if we did it would be doing it for you’.

This has never been done in this country. No physician in this country has applied for a schedule 1 licence. We don’t know how to do it we need you to tell us but they wouldn’t.

We have done this wrangling for three months of how to do it. The application is now in. They need to give us a decision.

The prime minister said to me she would help us provide this medication for my son. That is what needs to happen.

Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, welcomes Javid’s announcement.

In response to her, Javid says the law in this area cannot be changed overnight.

But once the review has concluded, the government will be able to act quickly.

He says he is sorry that Alfie Dingley’s mother has had to wait so long to get her cannabis oil.

Sajid Javid announces review of law on cannabis use for medicinal purposes

Sajid Javid, the home secretary, says over the weekend he issued an emergency licence to allow Billy Caldwell to have cannabis oil for medical purposes.

He says the government now needs to look more closely at the use of cannabis-based medicines in the healthcare situation.

The current situation is not satisfactory, he says.

  • Javid says he will review how cannabis is scheduled as a drug. But this is not the first step towards legalising it, he says. The review is just about looking at its medical benefits.
  • Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, will review how cannabis can be used for medical purposes, he says. On the basis of her findings, a second stage of the review will consider the case for rescheduling cannabis-based products.

Javid says the review will start within a week.

He says a licence to allow Alfie Dingley to access cannabis oil will be released today.

Damian Green, the former first secretary of state and Theresa May ally, told the Daily Politics that he would not use the phrase “Brexit dividend” (which May used yesterday to explain where the extra money for the NHS would come from). He said he did not know whether or not there would be such a dividend.

The Labour MP Chuka Umunna has put out this statement about the Michel Barnier speech (see 11.09am) on behalf of the People’s Vote campaign, which is demanding a referendum on the final Brexit deal. Umunna said:

It is now plain that Theresa May’s Red Lines – which were never discussed in the referendum campaign – now threaten the safety and security of Britain.

Refusing to participate in a cross-European court is going to mean our police and security services are going to be weakened.

Chope says blocking upskirting bill ended up helping campaigners who wanted it

Sir Christopher Chope, the Conservative MP who blocked the private member’s bill banning upskirting, is on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show.

Chope says that this has been a difficult period for him. But that is a reasonable price to pay for standing up for principle, he says.

He says he was standing up for the principle that bills should be debated. This one was government-supported, but the government was trying to sneak it through without a debate.

He says he is glad the government is now bringing forward its own bill.

Q: You try stop all private members’ bills, don’t you?

Chope says that is not fair.

Q: Why did you object to a bill that would have protected police dogs being stabbed?

Chope says on Friday there were 26 bills that could not be debated through lack of time. He objected to the way the government was using bills to bring forward measures without discussion.

Q: It is undemocratic for you to block something most people want, isn’t it?

Chope says on Friday there were only a small number of MPs in the Commons. And the government often blocks bills itself, he says.

He says the government wanted to leapfrog other private members’ bill in the list.

Q: What do you say to people who claim you think upskirting is acceptable?

Chope says we all find upskirting offensive and disgusting. As a result of what he did, the government will legislate. He says he has done a good turn to Gina Martin and others campaigning for this measure.

  • Chope says blocking upskirting bill ended up helping the campaigners who wanted it.

The Labour peer Andrew Adonis posted this on Twitter this morning.

At the Number 10 lobby briefing, asked if Theresa May was confident about voting down the Lords “meaningful vote” amendment to the EU withdrawal bill in the Commons tomorrow afternoon, her spokesman said the Lords had agreed with the Commons on the majority of issues. He went on:

But we cannot accept the amendment on meaningful vote agreed in the Lords. Agreeing to amendable motions would allow parliament to direct government on its approach to exiting the EU, binding the prime minister’s hands and making it harder to secure a good deal for the UK.

It also does not meet the reasonable tests set out last week by the prime minister and the secretary of state of exiting the European Union that any new amendment must respect the referendum result, cannot undermine the negotiations or change the constitutional role of parliament and government.

Our original amendment struck the right balance between respecting the tests set out by the government as well as delivering on the aims of Dominic Grieve’s own amendment. That’s why we will be re-tabling our original amendment today and will look to overturn the Lords decision tomorrow.

The Brexit department has not formally responded to the Michel Barnier speech yet, but a source there suggests taking a look at this Twitter thread from Steve Peers, a professor of EU law at Essex University. Peers is commenting on the European commission’s paper on policing and criminal law cooperation published yesterday, which was the basis of Barnier’s speech. Peers thinks some of the EU’s assertions are highly dubious.

Here is the start of the thread.

And this is how it concludes.

Marcus Fysh, a Conservative MP who voted leave in the EU referendum, has described the proposals in the Michel Barnier speech as “reasonable”.

At the morning lobby briefing Downing Street confirmed that the government will not accept the amendment on a “meaningful vote” passed by the Lords yesterday, my colleague Peter Walker reports.

Home Office rejects Hague's call for cannabis to be legalised

William Hague, the former Conservative leader and former foreign secretary, has urged the government to legalise cannabis. He has made the argument in his Daily Telegraph column (paywall) and we have written it up here.

This morning the Home Office has rejected Hague’s proposal. A spokesperson said the government had “no intention” of reviewing the classification of cannabis, which would remain a class B drug, adding:

Any debate within government about the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of cannabis-based medicines does not extend to any review regarding the classification of cannabis and the penalties for the illicit possession, cultivation and trafficking of cannabis will remain the same.

William Hague
William Hague Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the Observer

Michel Barnier's speech - Summary

Here are the main points from Michel Barnier’s speech.

  • Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the UK would not be able to access EU-only or Schengen-only databases after Brexit.

We are open to exchanging information on passengers contained in passenger name records with the UK authorities.

But let’s be clear: based on the UK’s positions, our cooperation will need to be organised differently. It will rely on effective and reciprocal exchanges, but not on access to EU-only or Schengen-only databases.

Barnier also said there would have to be “effective exchange of information” between the UK and EU countries after Brexit, including with Europol, the EU police agency, and Eurojust, the EU judicial cooperation unit. He said the UK would be invited to send a liaison prosecutor and liason officers to these agencies.

  • He said the British government was wrong to think it could preserve all the benefits of current security cooperation with the EU after Brexit. He called for “more realism” from London.

To negotiate an ambitious new relationship with the UK, which we all want, we need more realism on what is possible and what is not when a country is outside of the EU’s area of justice, freedom and security and outside of Schengen ...

This is our offer. While we are constrained by the UK’s red lines, it is a fair offer. It reflects our strong commitment to address our common challenges.

Some in the UK would like to go further.

They want to maintain all the benefits of the current relationship, while leaving the EU regulatory, supervision, and application framework. And they try to blame us for the consequences of their choice.

Once again, we will not be drawn into this blame game. It would mean wasting time we don’t have.

In this field of internal security, it is particularly hard to speak about what will no longer be possible. But we have, I have, to speak the truth.

  • He said the UK would not be able to take part in the European arrest warrant scheme after Brexit.

We know that the UK is not ready to accept the free movement of people, the jurisdiction of the court and the charter of fundamental rights – for the charter, this was confirmed last week by the House of Commons.

This means that the UK cannot take part in the European arrest warrant.

But the EU and the UK would still want to cooperate on extradition after Brexit, he said.

We are ready to build on the existing council of Europe convention, to which all member states have signed up.

For instance we could envisage streamlining the procedure, facilitating processes, introducing time-limits. This is very much needed.

  • He said the UK would be able to cooperate with Europol and Eurojust after Brexit. For example, it would be able to participate in “Europol analysis projects dealing with live investigations”. But it would not be able to shape the strategic direction of these agencies, or take part in management board meetings.
  • He said the EU would expect the UK to remain party to the European convention on human rights after Brexit.
  • He said the EU wanted the UK’s data protection standards to remain in line with its own after Brexit.
  • He said the European parliament would “have the last word” on Brexit. That seemed a subtle attempt to embarrass Theresa May ahead of tomorrow’s “meaningful vote” debate.
Michel Barnier speaking in Vienna today.
Michel Barnier speaking in Vienna today. Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Sajid Javid, the home secretary, is making a Commons statement on drug licensing at 12.30pm. Labour whips think a U-turn may be in the offing.

This is from Bloomberg’s Ian Wishart.

Barnier says UK will lose 'benefits of cooperation' after Brexit

Here is one of the key extracts from the speech, where Michel Barnier explains why the UK will not be able to cooperate with EU countries on security after Brexit in much the same as it does now.

This is very problematic for the UK government, because most of what it is proposing on security cooperation after Brexit involves, as far as possible, the continuation of the status quo.

Barnier said:

The UK has decided to leave the EU’s institutions, structures and safeguards. It will be a third country outside Schengen and outside the EU’s legal order. This is a fact. And facts have consequences.

The UK’s recent paper on security expresses a desire to keep the benefits of EU membership. This is understandable when you look at what we have achieved together as a union in internal security together ...

Is there another region in the world where sovereign states built together a common area without internal border controls? Where citizens enjoy free movement and security and can avail of shared institutions to make sure their fundamental rights are protected? This cooperation is both, in fact, unique and unprecedented. And it is made possible by the trust between member states.

This trust does not fall from the sky. There is no magic wand. As I said in Lisbon, in front of the Federation for European Law [in this speech], this trust is founded on an ecosystem based on common rules and safeguards, shared decisions, joint supervision and implementation, and a common court of justice.

If you leave this ecosystem, you lose the benefits of this cooperation. You are a third country because you have decided to be so. And you need to build a new relationship.

The full text of the Barnier speech is here.

I will post a detailed summary shortly.

Updated

Here is some more comment on the Barnier speech.

From Sky’s Lewis Goodall

And this is from Camino Mortera from the Centre for European Reform thinktank.

Here is Laurence Norman from the Wall Street Journal on the Barnier speech.

Daniel Ferrie, Michel Barnier’s press officer, has tweeted out some quotes from the Barnier speech.

He says the EU will propose a strong partnership with the EU after Brexit.

He says he has to leave the conference now.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s lead Brexit spokesman, will be speaking at the conference later, he confirms. Barnier says the European parliament will “have the last word” on the matter.

(That sounded like a subtle dig at the British, in the light of Theresa May’s opposition to the “meaningful vote” amendment.)

And that’s it.

I’ll post a summary soon.

Barnier says he and his team are still working with the British on finalising the withdrawal agreement.

About 75% of it is finalised, he says.

But there is “much work to do” before the EU summit in June, or the summit in October, which will be “the last stage” for an agreement, he says.

Barnier says European countries are far stronger as members of a united EU.

Barnier says the UK will be expected to continue to be bound by the European convention on human rights after Brexit if it expects to collaborate with the EU. As my colleague Daniel Boffey reports, this was a theme of the slides issued yesterday.

Barnier says the EU is constrained by the UK’s red lines. Taking that into account, the EU’s offer is a fair offer.

He says some in Britain want all the current benefits of cooperation. That is not possible. But some in Britain blame the EU for the consequences of the decision they have taken.

The UK decided to leave the EU, he says. He regrets the decision, but accepts it.

He says if they want to build a new relationship, they need goodwill.

But they also need “more realism about what is possible”, he says.

Barnier says the UK will not be part of the European arrest warrant after Brexit.

But there will be cooperation, he says.

Barnier says he wants to see cooperation between EU and British law enforcement agencies after Brexit.

But the UK will not be able to shape the strategic direction of relevant bodies, he says. He says it will not be allowed to attend meetings of the Eurojust or Europol management boards.

UK will not be allowed access to EU-only or Schengen-only police databases after Brexit, says Barnier

Barnier says he wants there to be effective exchange of information between the UK and the EU after Brexit in relation to police and judicial cooperation.

But that will not be allowed on the same basis as now, he says. He says the UK will not be allowed access to EU-only or Schengen-only databases.

  • UK will not be allowed access to EU-only or Schengen-only police databases after Brexit, says Barnier.

Barnier calls for “more realism” from UK on what degree of police cooperation will be possible after Brexit

Barnier says there is a need for “more realism” on what is possible in the field of police and judicial cooperation after Brexit when the UK becomes a third country. He means “more realism” from the British, obviously.

  • Barnier calls for “more realism” from UK on what degree of police and judicial cooperation will be possible after Brexit.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is giving a speech now on police and judicial cooperation after Brexit. He is speaking at a conference in Vienna and there is a live stream here.

Yesterday the European commission publishes slides (pdf) setting out its stance on this issue.

Grieve says defeat for May on 'meaningful vote' will not bring down government

Tomorrow Theresa May faces a difficult vote in the Commons as the EU withdrawal bill nears the end of its passage through parliament and MPs are asked to resolve the one outstanding area of dispute - whether the bill should include the robust “meaningful vote” amendment which would allow MPs to vote on what should happen next if they have not approved a Brexit withdrawal agreement by January.

On the Today programme this morning Dominic Grieve, the Conservative former attorney general who has leading the Tory rebels pushing for a proper meaningful vote, insisted that if May loses, that will not bring down the government. When it was put to him that if he were to win tomorrow, that might collapse the government, he replied:

Of course not. It’s complete nonsense. This is the end stage of the consideration of the details of a piece of legislation. Whichever way the vote ultimately goes, the idea that the government is going to be endangered by this difference of view within the House of Commons, which might lead to its defeat, is complete nonsense.

Grieve said that, when he used the phrase “we could collapse the government” in an interview at the weekend, he was talking about what might happen if the final Brexit withdrawal agreement were rejected. He said the whole point of his “meaningful vote” amendment was to stop that happening. He explained:

One of the reasons I’ve supported [the amendment] is precisely to avoid the sort of crisis a government would immediately collapse [if MPs rejected the Brexit withdrawal agreement] ...

By having a mechanism by which the House of Commons can express a view, without for example moving to a motion of no confidence which could collapse the government, that way we can give ourselves time both to influence the government and to think of what best to do next. All of us must hope that this does not happen. But there is a risk it will happen, and if we have no deal at the very end, it is a very serious crisis.

Some Tory MPs have argued that there is no need for the “meaningful vote” amendment because, if the Commons were to vote down the withdrawal agreement, the government would fall. But Grieve said that that would not be desirable. His plan was better, he said.

Because if we get to a position where we are three weeks from crashing out without a deal, and people can’t fly to other countries in Europe, the idea that it’s a good moment to get rid of the prime minister, have a general election, or go through the process of forming a new government as an emergency, doesn’t seem to me a very good one if it can be avoided.

Doubtless there will be more on this as the day goes on.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, gives a speech in Vienna.

11.30am: Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 12.45pm: MPs begin a debate on a Labour motion saying the Commons has no confidence in Chris Grayling, the transport secretary.

2.30pm: Nick Hurd, the policing minister, and Sir Thomas Winsor, the chief inspector of constabulary, give evidence to the Commons home affairs committee on the future of policing.

As usual, I will also be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary at the end of the day.

You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.

Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news from Jack Blanchard. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’ top 10 must reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments BTL but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.

Updated

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Zendaya has opened up about those Tom Holland wedding rumours, and revealed even those close to her have been fooled by fake AI photos going viral online.
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
49 Times People Ordered From Cheap Websites And The Products Were Hilariously Bad
Online shopping can feel like a gamble. The product photos promise something sleek, stylish, and exactly what you were hoping for but sometimes what arrives at your door tells a completely different story. Recently, people online began sharing the expectation vs. reality moments from their Temu and AliExpress purchases. From…
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
'Love Is Blind' Season 11: Everything We Know
Despite lingering criticism, the Netflix reality hit doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.
Marie Claire
Marie Claire
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