May Seeks Deal as Minister Quits to Join Rebels: Brexit Update

Theresa May has dodged one rebellion but is still trying to face down another as her key Brexit legislation heads back to Parliament with pro-European lawmakers threatening to vote against her.

Voting starts at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday and the main amendment to watch is number 19. It would give parliament unprecedented power to direct Brexit negotiations if lawmakers reject the divorce deal that May plans to bring back from Brussels in October. It’s known as the meaningful vote amendment.

May objects to the clause -- inserted by the unelected House of Lords -- because she says it would tie her hands in negotiations. Brexit-backers hate it as they see it as a tool to thwart the split. Business quite likes it as it all but removes the chances of a chaotic no-deal divorce.

The government has put forward a compromise amendment but the rebels aren’t buying it. Dominic Grieve, a leading rebel, has put down his attempt at a compromise, but there’s no sign yet that the government will go for it.

We will be following developments here in real time.

Tory Rebel Declares Will Vote Against Government (10:17 a.m.)

Antoinette Sandbach, a well known Tory rebel, said she would vote for the new amendment put forward by Grieve. It’s an attempt at a compromise -- a slight softening on the House of Lords amendment -- but still hands all the power to Parliament, so is unlikely to be unacceptable to the government.

Pro-Remain Minister Quits and Joins Rebels (10:10 a.m)

Phillip Lee says he will vote with rebels on the amendment that would give Parliament the power to direct negotiations if lawmakers reject May’s Brexit deal.

"If, in the future, I am to look my children in the eye and honestly say that I did my best for them I cannot, in all good conscience, support how our country’s current exit from the EU looks set to be delivered," he says.

Pro-Remain Minister Resigns to Focus on Brexit (9:45 a.m.)

Phillip Lee, who backed Remain and has been chastised for his Brexit views, announced he’s resigning from the government so that he can focus on Brexit as a member of Parliament.

Potentially, he could swell the ranks of rebels today.

"I am incredibly sad to have had to announce my resignation as a minister in Her Majesty’s Government so that I can better speak up for my constituents and country over how Brexit is currently being delivered," he said on Twitter.

Down to the Wire (7:35 a.m.)

Theresa May’s government launched into last-minute negotiations to quell a Brexit rebellion by her lawmakers. But the prime minister is still facing a knife-edge vote on Tuesday that could determine the future of Brexit, and of her career.

May bought off pro-European rebels on what would have been a largely symbolic vote on whether the U.K. should remain in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit. With a vaguely worded fudge that the whole party can get behind, that fight has been postponed until another showdown next month.

But she’s still at risk of a rebellion in a vote with potentially more explosive consequences. An amendment inserted by the House of Lords into her key Brexit legislation essentially hands Parliament the power to direct negotiations if lawmakers vote down the divorce deal that May brings back from Brussels.

May hates this clause, known as the “meaningful vote” amendment, because she says it would tie her hands in negotiations. Brexit backers hate it because they see it as a tool to thwart the divorce. If the amendment is accepted, it would be another reason for Brexiters to want to replace May with one of their own.

For pro-EU rebels, the stake are high. While the customs issue will come again, they might not get another chance to secure themselves a meaningful vote on the final divorce deal that May expects to secure later this year. The government wants lawmakers to be faced with the choice of this deal or no deal – something pro-EU rebels see as no choice at all. They want to be able to send May back to the negotiating table if they don’t like it.

Last night May spoke to lawmakers in Parliament and was greeted with applause as the party made a show of unity. Some rebels had been wavering, reluctant to destabilize May and risk a Brexit hardliner taking over. Last night, some were still considering what to do.

Dominic Grieve, a leading rebel, told BBC Newsnight he might still go against the government on the meaningful vote if his own compromise amendment doesn’t get government backing. The MPs will face huge pressure right down to the vote, expected at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

As if they weren’t aware of the stakes, the Sun newspaper warned them they would be betraying the country if they voted against May.

May urged her lawmakers to think about the message they were sending to the EU and begged them not to tie her hands in negotiations. Robert Buckland, the Remain-supporting solicitor-general, was more succinct as he stood alongside euroskeptic Brexit Minister Steve Baker:

“There is ongoing work happening. It’s emblematic of a real sense of common purpose in the party that we all hang together or we all hang separately.”