2019 vote of confidence in the May ministry

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File:Theresa May Tallinn Digital (Crop).jpg
Prime Minister Theresa May in 2017
File:Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party UK (cropped).jpg
Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn in 2018

On 15 January 2019, a motion of no confidence in the government of Theresa May was tabled in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. On 16 January, the House rejected it by a vote of 325 to 306.

The motion was laid by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, after the government lost a Commons vote to secure parliamentary backing for the government's deal for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union by 230 votes on the evening of 15 January. That vote, 432 to 202 in favour of rejecting the deal, represented the largest defeat for a sitting government in modern history.

The motion was debated on the afternoon of 16 January before being voted on that evening. It was supported by all opposition parties, and opposed by the Conservatives and Democratic Unionist Party. After the result, Theresa May requested individual meetings with leaders of all parties to discuss how to continue with the process of leaving the European Union. The invitation was taken up by all leaders except Corbyn, who said he would not meet the Prime Minister unless she could ensure that a no-deal Brexit would not occur.

Background

In December 2018 May had faced a vote of confidence from members of the Parliamentary Conservative Party because of opposition from Eurosceptic Conservative MPs to her Brexit withdrawal agreement, which they felt would compromise the UK's control over its borders due to its inclusion of the Irish backstop proposal, a proposal that would allow for the possibility of Northern Ireland remaining within the EU Customs Union as a means to avoid a physical border with the Irish Republic following the UK's departure from the EU. However, although May won the vote comfortably with a majority of 83, plans for the House of Commons to debate the Brexit agreement in December were postponed until the new year when it became clear Parliament would reject it.[1][2][3][4]

On 17 December, and following May's decision to delay the vote, Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in her Premiership.[5] The following day the government refused to allow time for the motion to be debated, which Speaker John Bercow confirmed that they were under no obligation to do.[6]

Parliament subsequently debated the Brexit deal in January 2019, with the vote on whether to back May's plans taking place on 15 January.[7] The deal was rejected by parliament, with a majority of 230 voting against it. The result – 432 to 202 in favour of rejecting the deal – represented the largest defeat for a sitting government in modern history. Addressing the House of Commons in the wake of the result, May said that she would welcome a vote of confidence in her government, and allow time for it to be debated the following day. Corbyn subsequently tabled a motion of no confidence in the government in the hope of triggering a snap general election.[8][9][10]

Proceedings

Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom said that the House's afternoon session on 16 January, following the conclusion of Prime Minister's Questions, would be dedicated to the debate, with a vote expected at around 19:00.[11]

In accordance with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, the text of the motion was "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government". In addition to Corbyn, it was co-sponsored by Ian Blackford (SNP leader at Westminster), Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat leader), Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru), Caroline Lucas (Greens) and Nick Brown (Labour Chief Whip) and signed by a further 38 MPs.[12]

Division

The motion was defeated by 325 votes to 306: a majority of 19. Ten DUP MPs and the independent MP Sylvia Hermon voted with the government. All the other parties in the Commons supported Labour's motion, as did some independent MPs, including Jared O'Mara and Stephen Lloyd. Three independent MPs, all formerly in Labour, abstained, as did Paul Flynn (Labour), who was too ill to vote.[13][14]

Motion of no confidence
Ballot → 16 January 2019
Required majority → 318 out of 635 voting MPs[Note 1] N
Ayes
306 / 635
Noes
325 / 635
Abstentions
4 / 635
Sources: Hansard

Aftermath

After the result, Theresa May told Members of the House of Commons she would "continue to work to deliver on the solemn promise to the people of this country to deliver on the result of the referendum and leave the European Union". As a result of this, she requested to meet leaders of all parties to have individual meetings on how to continue with the process of leaving the European Union. In reaction to the result, the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, asked May to ensure that a no-deal Brexit would not occur, telling MPs that the government should "remove clearly, once and for all, the prospect of the catastrophe of a no-deal exit from the EU". This idea of eliminating the possibility of a no-deal Brexit was backed by the SNP.[15]

May made a statement to the nation from Downing Street at 22:00.[16][17] In it she urged MPs to "put self-interest aside" and "work constructively together" to achieve a solution to Brexit.[18]

On the next day, it was discovered that the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Philip Hammond) reassured executives from leading companies when he spoke to them for more than an hour at 9.30pm on Tuesday, that the government had no intention to have a no-deal brexit occurring as well; as the fact that a backbench motion could force the government to extend Article 50. This would act as a "sort of ultimate backstop if the work the government is doing in seeking to find a way forward fails to deliver".[19]

Jeremy Corbyn also laid out conditions for the Labour party to support a second referendum. In a speech he asserted "If the government remains intransigent, if support for Labour's alternative is blocked for party advantage – and the country is facing the potential disaster of no deal – our duty will then be to look at other options which we've set out in our conference motion, including the option of a public vote."[20] He also requested, through the use of email, that Labour MP's should not partake in any Brexit discussions with the government until May would rule out a no-deal Brexit; this was after three Labour MPs – Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper and John Mann – went to the Cabinet Office to meet conservative ministers and discuss a solution to the crisis.[21]

See also

Notes

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References

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External links

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