Summary

  • MPs vote by 358 to 234 to back the prime minister's plan for the UK to leave the EU on 31 January - a majority of 124

  • The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, introduced in Thursday's Queen's Speech, now moves to its next stage

  • Boris Johnson said the country was now "one step closer to getting Brexit done"

  • Jeremy Corbyn said it was a "reckless" bill that will tear communities apart

  • Mr Corbyn ordered Labour MPs to vote against the bill - but six backed it and 32 abstained

  • Emily Thornberry and Clive Lewis have declared their intention to run to become Labour's next leader

  1. Speaker 'feels great and ready to get on' after diagnosispublished at 12:40 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    BBC News Channel

    Lindsay HoyleImage source, EPA

    Sir Lindsay Hoyle has been speaking to BBC News about his diagnosis of type one diabetes that he revealed earlier today.

    He says he decided to open up about it while filming a documentary about being the Speaker of the Commons, adding: "It allowed me to speak out. I wanted to show where I am at and the fact that I have to get on with the job I got.

    "I will live with this, I will manage it and it is about wanting to inspire others."

    Talking of inspiration, he has also had the support of former Prime Minister Theresa May, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes herself when she was home secretary.

    "[She] has been very nice and very kind in what she's said, saying don't let it affect you," says Sir Lindsay.

    "She was the prime minister... and she said she could do the job and she could manage it, and that's the sort of inspiration I have had from other people."

    He praised the care he got in hospital in Chorley, his Lancashire constituency, and advised other people "not to shy away" from doctors if they are feeling unwell.

    "I realised then this is serious, I have got to deal with it. It is about getting the pace right," he adds.

    "Nothing will change. I love my job and I love working hard. I have just got to be more sensible.

    "But I feel great, full of energy and ready to get on with my role."

  2. Francois: The war is overpublished at 12:35 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Tory MP Mark Francois, a former reservist, is keen on military metaphors and he's been at it again.

    He says the "war over Europe is finally coming to an end...not because of a truce but because the British people have imposed their will on us".

    He suggests those who tried to thwart the will of the people by "playing every trick in the book" to stop Brexit have got their comeuppance.

    He wishes Steve Bray, the megaphone-wielding campaigner famous for bellowing "Stop Brexit" outside Parliament, a "happy and silent retirement".

    And he concludes by paying a festive homage to Mariah Carey's chart-topper, telling the deputy speaker "all I want for Christmas is not EU".

  3. Tory MP: Northern Irish arrangements 'not perfect'published at 12:25 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Conservative MP Simon Hoare says the "people have spoken and we on this side of the House are their champions".

    But he does have some interesting observations.

    The creation of a trade border in the Irish Sea as a result of Boris Johnson's Brexit deal is "not perfect and will present challenges", he admits.

    New customs arrangements will have to be "light touch and cost neutral" and preserving the integrity of the United Kingdom must be paramount.

    And in response to an intervention from an SNP MP, Mr Hoare also suggests the government will have to come up with new arguments and language to make the case for Scotland staying in the UK after Brexit.

  4. Watch: What's the political moment of 2019?published at 12:24 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    BBC Politics Live presenter tweets...

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  5. Labour MP 'respects colleagues' right to back bill'published at 12:19 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    BBC News Channel

    Wes Streeting

    Labour MP Wes Streeting says he expects some Labour MPs to abstain from the vote on the PM's Brexit bill or support the government because of “promises they have made to their voters”.

    He says: “I fully respect that. That’s an appropriate thing for a constituency MP to do.”

    However, Mr Streeting says he doesn’t believe Boris Johnson’s deal is in the best interests of the country.

    He says he respects the fact that “the prime minister has got a thumping majority to get this bill through” but says he won’t “surrender a principled stand here”.

    Brexit is “inevitable”, he says, and Labour accepts it’s happening but he says there is “no hiding places” for Boris Johnson now.

    “It’s our responsibility and first duty as an opposition to hold the government to account for the promises they made and to set out viable alternatives. “

  6. Timms: MPs will have a lot of explaining to dopublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Stephen Timms

    Labour's Stephen Timms says it was "understable" that the prime minister had been "very anxious to hold the election" before his Brexit bill was scrutinised.

    He says the "impact will become apparent" as the Commons goes through it, as it will cause "a lot of damage to our constitution and our economy".

    Mr Timms adds: "MPs [backing the deal] are going to have a lot of explaining to do to constituents in the years ahead."

  7. 'Positive talks' with DUP in Stormont talkspublished at 12:05 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Away from the Brexit debate for a moment, and there has been some movement in the talks to restore devolution in Stormont.

    Discussions had appeared to be at a standstill, but Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith tweeted to say he had a positive meeting with the DUP this morning.

    Yesterday the British and Irish governments laid the blame at the feet of the DUP for the parties failing to reach an agreement.

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  8. Bill Cash hails 'watershed moment'published at 12:01 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Sir Bill CashImage source, UK Parliament

    It's fair to say the veteran Conservative Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash is a happy man.

    He says this is a "watershed moment" for the country and Parliament, comparing it to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the 1867 Reform Act - which gave many working men the vote for the first time - and the fight against Hitler in 1940.

    The UK has shown it will no longer be "subjugated and shackled", he says.

    He duly congratulates Boris Johnson on his election victory and has a pop at some of his predecessors in No 10 who were opposed to Brexit, describing them as "extinguished volcanoes".

  9. Some Labour MPs 'could avoid rather than vote against Brexit bill'published at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

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  10. SDLP 'making voice heard early'published at 11:54 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Earlier, we heard the SDLP's Claire Hanna make her maiden speech in Parliament, during which she called Brexit an "emergency".

    The SDLP, which are pro-Remain, won two seats at the election after losing all three of its seats in 2017.

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  11. UK is a 'lost soul', suggests Lib Dem MPpublished at 11:49 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Wera HobhouseImage source, UK Parliament

    Lib Dem Wera Hobhouse is making a passionate defence of the idea of European co-operation.

    While she concedes the "battle for Brexit is over", she says her opposition to leaving the EU "has not melted away overnight" and she will continue to make the case for Europe as that is her "democratic right".

    On a personal level, the German-born MP for Bath, who became a British citizen after moving to the UK, says she "feels different about the country" as a result of events over the past few years, describing it as a "lost soul".

    She says the "relentless rhetoric and hostile environment" over freedom of movement has caused "deep wounds" that will not heal easily.

  12. Tory MP: 'Four times the people have spoken'published at 11:48 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Eurosceptic MP Owen Paterson told MPs the general election "was a re-run of the referendum".

    "Those people (leave voters) had been abused, they had be traduced, bombarded with propaganda leading up to the referendum, then after the referendum and since then. They were told they were thick. There were told they were racist. We in the ERG were told we were fascists, we were Nazi’s, and we’re extremists.

    "And what did we want? All we wanted was to honour the referendum."

    He turned his frustration on the Labour benches. "For those members, it’s staggering to hear them this morning still quibbling, still cavilling about this.

    "Four times the people have spoken. How many more times do they have to speak to get it? They voted to leave and this bill means they will leave.”

  13. Analysis: Johnson attempts positive tonepublished at 11:47 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Norman Smith
    Assistant political editor

    The prime minister didn't go for full-blown Boris Johnson triumphant mode in his statement.

    It was a much more conciliatory tone, trying to reach out to MPs, asking them in effect to accept that Brexit is going to happen.

    And appealing to them to put to one side the old Leave and Remain camps and to work to try and ensure that Brexit is a good deal for this country, and hoping it will be something all parties and all governments accept and build on.

    Whether his call will be heeded, I think we have to see, because the opposition parties are clearly in a moment of shock, shell-shock literally by the outcome of the election, they're still finding their way.

    So what we got from Mr Corbyn, I thought, was a sort of recitation of his old, familiar arguments.

    Behind him though, you wonder whether there is a reappraisal going on, on the Labour benches.

    Although Mr Corbyn has said Labour is going to oppose the Bill, it will be interesting to see how many Labour MPs will abstain or choose to back it.

    The danger for Labour is although there may be good reasons for voting against the Bill today, to people outside, it may well look as if they are just continuing to oppose and reject Brexit.

  14. Labour MP: North East will be 'hit the hardest'published at 11:39 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Labour's Catherine McKinnell is up next. She accepts that the political make-up of the Commons has changed dramatically following the election and the UK will leave the EU on 31 January.

    But she says that does not change the fact that the livelihoods and jobs of her constituents in Newcastle and the rest of the North East of England - which saw a slew of new Tory MPs elected last Thursday - are at risk and that the region she represents will be "hit the hardest".

    She concludes by saying Brexit "will not be done" by next month, whatever the outcome of Friday's vote and the eventual passage of the withdrawal bill.

  15. Pennycook: Bill means distant relationship with EUpublished at 11:29 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Matthew Pennycook

    Labour's shadow Brexit minister Matthew Pennycook takes his chance to attack Boris Johnson's deal.

    He says it is a "product of a conscious political decision to break with his predecessor" - a reference to Theresa May - and to "abandon the possibility of a trading relationship based on close alignment, rather than guaranteeing a more distant one".

    Mr Pennycook says agreeing to the government's plan will see the UK "leave with the hardest form of Brexit possible except that of for leaving without a deal at all".

    He adds: "The government's own economic analysis of previous deals makes clear this bill will have a profoundly negative impact for our economy for years to come.

    "We may not feel them immediately... but the harm, discernible or not, will be felt and will take its toll."

  16. Liam Fox: No further extensionspublished at 11:27 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

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  17. What happens after 31 January 2020?published at 11:20 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Tom Edgington
    BBC Reality Check

    Britain, Europe and exit text with flag on wooden signpost outdoors in nature, emergency sign to symbolise BrexitImage source, Getty Images

    With a large Conservative majority, the UK is now all but certain to leave the EU on 31 January.

    But that will not be the end of the Brexit story.

    The UK will then enter an 11-month transition period, where the trading relationship will remain the same and the UK will continue to follow EU rules.

    UK and EU negotiators will use this period to determine the future relationship.

    You can read here about what is on the to-do list and what Brexit might look like at the end of it.

  18. Hilary Benn: 'Industries done over by Brexit'published at 11:19 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

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  19. Opposition MPs give verdict on Withdrawal Billpublished at 11:16 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Some opposition MPs have been tweeting their takes on the government's new Withdrawal Agreement bill.

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  20. SDLP MP gives anti-Brexit maiden speechpublished at 11:15 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2019

    Claire Hanna

    A new MP, Claire Hanna - a member of the SDLP who ousted the DUP from the seat of Belfast South - is making her maiden speech as part of the debate.

    She says the reason she decided to use this opportunity to speak for the first time was because Brexit is an "emergency".

    Ms Hanna says the "pro-European majority" in Northern Ireland is "a more diverse and more united movement that I think we ever seen in our troubled history.

    She says Brexit has "sharpened all the lines of the Good Friday Agreement".

    "We should have spend the last few years talking about reconciliation," she adds. "Brexit is a problem that doesn't need to exist and reopens old wounds.

    "The concerns we have have been dismissed by those of you that won't ever have to live with the results of these actions."