How local MPs voted in latest Brexit amendments

Local MPs Tony Lloyd and Liz McInnes voted for a number of Brexit amendments that were ultimately rejected in the latest Brexit vote on Tuesday (29 January).

Both Mr Lloyd and Ms McInnes voted against Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady's amendment to call for Parliament to require the backstop is replaced with 'alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border' with Ireland. This amendment was passed.

Both local MPs voted for the following amendments:

• Labour's amendment for Parliament to vote on options which prevent the UK leaving the EU without a deal, including a permanent customs union and a referendum (defeated).
• Conservative MP Dominic Grieve's amendment to force the government to make time for six days of debate on Brexit alternatives before 26 March (defeated).
• Labour MP Yvette Cooper's amendment to give Parliament time to pass a bill that would postpone Brexit until 31 December if the prime minister's deal is not approved by 26 February (defeated).
• Labour MP Rachel Reeves' amendment for the government to ask the EU to postpone Brexit for an indefinite period (defeated).
• Conservative MP Dame Caroline Spelman's amendment to reject leaving the EU without a deal (passed).

They did not vote on the SNP's amendment to delay Brexit, rule out leaving the EU without a deal and emphasise the role of the UK nations in the Brexit process.

Ms McInnes said: "After months of refusing to take the chaos of No Deal off the table, the Prime Minister must now face the reality that No Deal is not an option. There is no majority in Parliament for crashing out of the EU, and a No Deal Brexit would be a disaster for jobs, the economy and the border in Northern Ireland.

“Just this week many of our leading supermarket and food retailers have warned that a No Deal scenario will lead to empty shelves and shortages of fresh food.

“For those who are now claiming that No Deal is what 17.4million people voted for in 2016, it’s worth remembering that the official Vote Leave campaign promised that “Taking back control is a careful change, not a sudden stop – we will negotiate the terms of a new deal before we start any legal process to leave.”

“A lot of people have claimed to know exactly why 17.4million people voted leave, but it’s surely incorrect to say that they all voted for No Deal and the chaos that will cause. No Deal is simply not a viable option.

“Last night the Government whipped their own MPs to support an amendment brought by Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady which asks the PM to do what she herself has said is not possible. It is a desperate and shambolic situation.

“Instead of making false promises to renegotiate a deal she knows she can’t deliver, the Prime Minister should now accept that her failed red lines will have to go and an alternative Brexit deal must be found – as Labour has called for: a deal that protects jobs, living standards and workers’ rights and environmental standards, including through a comprehensive customs union with a UK say and strong single market deal.

“That is what Jeremy Corbyn will be asking Theresa May for when he meets with her.”

Mr Lloyd said: "On the major vote in the Brexit debate this week, I voted against Theresa May’s proposal. It is worth pointing out that the cobbled together deal attracted little support from outside her own party. Theresa May had promised people in Northern Ireland that a hard border across Ireland would not be allowed. Because it breaks that promise, independent observers know Brussels will reject this new proposal and that means we’ll be back at square one again in two weeks’ time. 

"I did vote for the successful amendment that there should not be a no-deal Brexit. 

"No deal is simply unthinkable, not only due to the prospect of trade coming to a standstill at the port of Dover, or the serious threat of major companies such as Airbus and the car industry leaving Britain. The failure to make a deal with the European Union will result in us being left out of vital security sharing platforms which help tackle the dangers of terrorism and organised crime, both of which require cross-border working to defeat. That puts lives at risk and I’m not voting for that.

"We also know that essential drugs which people rely on to survive are already being stockpiled as there is a risk we will not be able to access them in the event of a no-deal Brexit - that is unacceptable.  

"There are a small number of people who tell me they voted for a no-deal Brexit in the referendum.  I know that a majority in Rochdale and in the country rejects a Conservative no-deal Hard Brexit – which would put our people’s health and safety and even lives at risk. 

"Despite the amendments that failed, we will inevitably need future votes so that Parliament can take control of the Brexit process from a Government that has lost its way.

"When Theresa May comes back in two weeks’ time we will simply have lost two weeks and that is dangerous brinkmanship on her part.

"Quite simply, the people of Rochdale and the Country deserve better than this."

• www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/29/amendments-to-may-statement-brexit-bill
• www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47033979