Summary

  • MPs debate private members' bills

  1. PM: 'We want to be sure that we leave the EU as one United Kingdom'published at 17:31 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    EU Council Statement

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Sammy WilsonImage source, HoC

    The DUP's Sammy Wilson says the DUP's position is that "the backstop is not necessary and it is damaging".

    He says the EU has made it clear that the backstop is "designed to keep Northern Ireland in the customs union territory of the EU".

    He says the prime minister gave an assurance that any backstop, and regulations with it, would have to be agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive and Northern Ireland Assembly (shouts of "what assembly?" follow).

    He asks if that still her position.

    Theresa May says the government stands by what it said on Northern Ireland, and it is "precisely the suggestion" made by the EU, that Northern Ireland remains in a customs union while the rest of the UK has a different relationship, that the government has rejected.

    "We want to be sure that we leave the EU as one United Kingdom."

  2. Former Cabinet colleagues stay awaypublished at 17:22 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Huffington Post's executive editor, politics, tweets

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  3. Lib Dems question government contingency plan for another referendumpublished at 17:20 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Prime Minister's Statement on Brexit

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Vince CableImage source, HoC

    Liberal Democrats Leader Vince Cable says The Times reported that Whitehall are carrying out contingency planning for a 'People's Vote' - another referendum on membership of the EU.

    He asks the prime minister to confirm these rumours.

    The prime minister says the article "is not correct" as "the government does not support a second referendum".

  4. SNP: Those who wreck backstop cause No Deal Brexitpublished at 17:19 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    EU Council Statement

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Ian BlackfordImage source, HoC

    SNP Westminister leader Ian Blackford says the PM returns from Brussels "utterly humiliated", suggesting this is because she is "hamstrung by the extreme Brexiteers of her own party".

    Theresa May's statement contained "nothing but jargon and rhetoric", he says. The Northern Ireland backstop is clearly the key issue and the UK must accept the EU's proposals on it, he says.

    "Those who attempt to wreck the backstop will be responsible for a No Deal Brexit."

    The prime minister says there has been confusion from Mr Blackford on the backstop, and that it's the terms that are being negotiated. She says the UK has proposed a deal that protects jobs. The failure to achieve a backstop is not the only thing that could lead to no deal, she says, as not actually having an agreement would lead to it.

    She says the SNP's approach would keep Scotland in the Commons Fisheries Policy, which "is not acting in the interests of Scotland".

  5. Future partnership between the EU 'worth fighting for'published at 17:18 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Prime Minister's Statement on Brexit

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Tory MP John Redwood asks what advantages a future partnership arrangement has that makes it "better than leaving the EU and spending £39bn at home with a huge boost to our economy and public services".

    Theresa May says a future partnership that affects jobs and livelihoods "is worth fighting for, and achieving for the United Kingdom".

    "Having good trading relationships on better than WTO terms is what I want to achieve with the European Union," she says.

  6. Why is the guarantee necessary?published at 17:17 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    The Times's deputy political editor and BBC correspondent tweet

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post 2

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post 2
  7. PM: 'Parliament can vote to accept or diverge from common rulebook rules'published at 17:14 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    EU Council Statement

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Theresa MayImage source, HoC

    Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee, Sir Bill Cash, says: "We will not have truly left the European Union if we are not in control of our own laws."

    He says the Chequers plan still allows other EU states to make the UK's laws on issues such as agriculture.

    Mr Cash asks how the prime minister can claim the UK will be in charge if this is the case.

    The prime minister says, "The common rule book has been a stable rule book for many years, but it is not correct to say that there will not be a parliamentary lock on those rules."

    "Change to those rules will be the say of the European Union, but Parliament will have a lock meaning that any decision to accept these rules or diverge from them will be a decision that's taken by Parliament."

  8. PM: Labour putting politics above the national interestpublished at 17:11 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    EU Council Statement

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    The prime minister says there was an awful lot about process in Jeremy Corbyn's response, but not much about substance. The government set out its plan in the summer in the white paper, she says.

    We have to deal with "this backstop issue", she says, "it doesn't matter what future relationship we want, we have to deal with this backstop issue."

    "Throughout all of this, all we have seen is...the Labour party playing politics with this issue," she criticises. "He is doing everything to frustrate Brexit and trigger a general election."

    "He's putting politics above the national interest."

  9. PM's response ahead of today's statementpublished at 17:10 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Prime Minister tweets

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  10. Corbyn: 'Government not taking back control, but losing control'published at 17:09 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    EU Council Statement

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Jeremy CorbynImage source, hoc

    Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn says the Conservative party "has spent the last two years arguing with itself instead of acting in the public interest", and says the last two years have been full of "missed deadlines, shambolic failure and now they are begging for extra time".

    Jeremy Corbyn asks for a straight answer from the prime minister on how long the extension would be for, and how much per month this would cost the UK.

    "The country voted to leave and now the prime minister is pleading with the EU to help her do it, it doesn't sound like taking back control, it sounds like losing control," he says.

    Mr Corbyn says: "The prime minister went to Brussels to beg for an extension."

    He says the problem is that "the Conservative party do not know what they want," and asks for the prime minister to set out their plan.

    "This is a fudge can being kicked down the road to keep the Conservative party in power," he says.

    "Labour's plan is a comprehensive customs union," Jeremy Corbyn says, "this is the solution to the Northern Ireland problem."

    "There would be no hard border in Ireland, no hard border down the Irish sea and good jobs for every region and the nation as a whole," he says.

    Jeremy Corbyn says this policy would "command the support of the House and support of businesses and unions".

  11. PM's 'four things' on Brexit dealpublished at 17:04 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    BBC political editor tweets

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  12. PM: Issue remains over Northern Ireland and borderpublished at 17:02 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    EU Council Statement

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    The prime minister is now delivering a statement following last week's European Council.

    On Brexit, she says the shape of the deal is clear, including protocols for Cyprus and Gibraltar, "heralding a new era in our relations".

    She says 95% of the withdrawal agreement and its protocols are now settled, but the issue remains over there being no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

    She says the original backstop proposal from the EU, with Northern Ireland alone remaining part of the single market, was not one that could be accepted. She says the EU is now actively working on the UK's proposals of a temporary UK-EU joint customs union.

    Any temporary joint customs union needs to be legally binding, she says, which would make other backstop proposals "no longer needed". This is needed to preserve the totality of the Good Friday Agreement.

    If at the end of 2020 no agreement is reached, the UK would need to make a "sovereign choice" between a UK-wide customs union or short extension period, she says.

    In any such scenario, the UK would need to be out of this implementation period well before the end of this Parliament.

    She says the government is still seeking assurances that any temporary backstop would not be kept indefinitely, and says the proposals are insurance policies which she believes will not be used.

  13. Lib Dems: Government 'cannot ignore' calls for another EU votepublished at 16:43 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Urgent Question on Meaningful Vote

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for exiting the EU, says the only real 'meaningful vote' is "to either vote on the specifics of the deal or to vote to stay in the EU, which 700,000 people marched for on Saturday."

    Mr Brake says "the government cannot ignore" a call for another vote.

    "We had that vote," the secretary of state Dominic Raab says.

    Mr Raab says "the government has no intention of supporting a second referendum or the revocation of Article 50."

  14. 'Meaningful vote can only affect the deal...only the government can stop Brexit'published at 16:41 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Meaningful Vote Urgent Question

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Efdward LeighImage source, HOC

    Conservative Sir Edward Leigh, who is a member of the Procedure Committee, says the evidence given last week "was very clear" .

    He says if there's no deal, it's a motion on a neutral motion (eg "That this House has considered...").

    If there is a deal however, there has to be a meaningful vote, he says, and "amendments must be taken first... unless the government produces its own business statement." This business statement would have to be voted on by MPs.

    "Deal or no deal, a meaningful vote can only affect the deal," he says. "It cannot affect the outcome of Brexit, because that is in statute...only the government can stop Brexit."

    He asks for confirmation that "Brexit proceeds on 29th of March 2019".

    Mr Raab responds that the government is 100% committed that the UK will leave the EU in March next year.

  15. Legal advice?published at 16:38 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Huffington Post's executive editor, politics, tweets

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  16. Amendments (which might have caused problems for government) withdrawnpublished at 16:36 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Conservative MP tweets

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    Allow Twitter content?

    This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  17. Hilary Benn: Ordering vote without discussion of amendments in advance 'unacceptable'published at 16:33 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Urgent Question on Meaningful Vote

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Hilary BennImage source, HoC

    Labour MP Hilary Benn says having read the memorandum to the Procedure Committee, he would like to point out that the select committee's recommendation of amendments to the withdrawal agreement motion is that "these would be taken before the main question and not after".

    Mr Benn calls on Dominic Raab to admit that "to order the vote in any other way would be unacceptable to many many members of this House."

    Dominic Raab says the position is set out in the memorandum and this is the "proper course" to make sure there is "a meaningful vote, substantive amendments, but also ensuring we also get a clear decision at the outcome."

  18. SNP: Seek consensus among all MPs, not just DUP and ERGpublished at 16:32 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Meaningful Vote Urgent Question

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Peter GrantImage source, HoC

    SNP Europe spokesman Peter Grant says speculation on the future of the prime minister is distracting from the serious issue of Brexit. He calls for the motion to "not only be a meaningful motion, but for MPs to be able to put forward meaningful amendments".

    He calls on the government to stop negotiations with a minority of DUP MPs and Tory Brexiteers in the European Research Group, and says it's time to seek consensus with the other MPs in the House of Commons.

    Mr Raab says "there will be a substantive motion, it will be amendable", and that he doesn't believe any MP would table a meaningless amendment.

  19. Anna Soubry: 'MPs trusted government that there would be a meaningful vote'published at 16:30 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Urgent Question on Meaningful Vote

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Anna SoubryImage source, HoC

    Conservative MP Anna Soubry says "this is a matter of trust" and it is "incredible for the secretary of state to say that the government didn't understand the consequences".

    She says: "Members trusted the government that there would be a meaningful vote, and so did the people."

    "If the people think there has been a breach of trust, they will never forgive you."

    Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab says there is "a need for a clear decision that we are given on the deal so that we know whether we can proceed to implement it".

  20. Shadow Brexit secretary: Parliament must have its view on any dealpublished at 16:28 British Summer Time 22 October 2018

    Urgent Question on Meaningful Vote

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Keir StarmerImage source, HoC

    Shadow secretary for exiting the EU Keir Starmer says some of the comments made by Tory MPs about the prime minister this weekend are "utterly disgraceful", and that "this kind of language has not place in our politics, and has to stop".

    He says "the government's response is always to push Parliament away, and this is the latest example."

    "We want a chance for Parliament to have its view on any deal the prime minister brings back," he says.

    "Parliament should be able to table, debate and vote on amendments," he says, and "Labour will not support any motion without the chance of this."

    In response, Dominic Raab says "as a matter of basic law, it is implausible for Parliament to be able to amend any deal brought back, and as a matter of common sense, it would be impossible to go back to the deal table."