Brexit Bill hailed by Boris Johnson as ‘absolutely momentous’ after massive majority of MPs vote to trigger Article 50 despite over 100 Remainers trying to block it
Boris Johnson hailed an 'absolutely momentous' day for Britain after a massive majority of MPs backed Brexit in a historic Commons showdown.
A total of 498 voted to give PM Theresa May permission to start Article 50 exit talks next month with 114 trying to scupper the bid.
The result, read out by The Speaker at 7.30pm, was greeted with a thunderous cheer by Tories.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson dubbed the moment “absolutely momentous” but Labour’s Stephen Pound, a pro-Remainer, shouted, “Suicide”.
Bo Jo said: "I've just voted three times in the House of Commons for an absolutely momentous thing - to give our Prime Minister the right to trigger Article 50 and Britain to begin the path out of the EU.
"Don't forget we may be leaving the EU treaties but we are not leaving Europe.
"We are going to be making an amazingly positive contribution to our continent as we always have done and always will.
"But we are now able to forge a new identity with new free trade deals as global Britain."
The vote followed two days of debate on the landmark bill and followed a plea from Mrs May.
She urged MPs to respect last year’s June 23 referendum vote, telling them: “This House has a very simple decision to make.
“We gave the right of judgment on this issue to the British people.
“They made their choice, they want to leave the EU. The question every member must ask themselves as they go through the lobbies tonight is do they trust the people?”
Labour MPs were told they HAD to support triggering Article 50 - but scores defied their leader Jeremy Corbyn and voted against it anyway.
498 MPs respected the referendum result and voted in favour of the Bill, but 114 voted against. That included 47 Labour MPs, 50 SNP, three independents, three Plaid Cymru, one Green, one Tory and seven Lib Dems. See how your MP voted here.
The only Conservative MP to vote against the bill was veteran Europhile Ken Clarke.
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was hit by a major revolt, with one in five of all his MPs defying his strict three line whip to back Brexit.
The Labour rebels included a total of 16 frontbenchers, in another embarrassing blow to his authority.
Three were in the shadow cabinet but resigned before the vote, including two last night just minutes before it was called – shadow Defra secretary Rachael Maskell and shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler.
Former Corbyn loyalist and York MP Ms Maskell insisted she had sworn an oath to represent “the will of her constituents”, who had voted by a large majority to Remain.
The 12 remaining rebel shadow ministers face the sack from Mr Corbyn.
The government cleared all House of Commons business to rush through the bill - ordered by the Supreme Court last week – in order to stick to the government’s timetable.
Every Tory MP was ordered to the Commons to ensure the government won the key vote.
Norwich North MP Chloe Smith even came back from maternity leave, walking through the division lobby with her four month old baby Alasdair on her shoulder.
Jubilant Brexit campaigner and ex-Tory Cabinet minister Owen Paterson said: “We are going to celebrate that the House of Commons has voted to take back control. We are going to have a drink”.
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There will be a final Commons vote next Wednesday when the bill gets its third reading before being passed to the Lords.
A series of pro-EU Tory MPs have threatened to side with Labour to try to stop the PM walking away from the EU with no Brexit deal without Parliament’s say so.
Mrs May revealed during PMQs yesterday that she will fulfil her promise to publish a White Paper blueprint of her negotiation aims in the Commons.
Government sources said it would be a “substantial” document and based on the 12 aims spelled out in her Lancaster House speech.
This afternoon two more Labour MPs resigned their positions in Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet, saying they would vote against the party's wishes and oppose triggering Article 50.
Dawn Butler and Rachael Maskell left the shadow frontbench team before tonight's vote.
The news comes days after shadow ministers Jo Stevens and Tulip Siddiq also quit their posts so they could vote against the Bill.
- LEGO is building up its UK HQ in a "clear signal" Britain is central to its future growth plans post-Brexit. The Danish group said it would increase the size of its London office by 50 per cent. Its finance chief, John Goodwin, called a "great location".
The MPs who voted against Brexit
47 Labour, 50 SNP, 7 Lib Dems, 3 SDLP, 1 Green, 2 Plaid, 1 Conservative, and 3 Independent voted against triggering Article 50
- Alexander, Heidi (Labour) Lewisham East
- Ali, Rushanara (Labour) Bethnal Green and Bow
- Allen, Graham (Labour) Nottingham North
- Allin-Khan, Dr Rosena (Labour) Tooting
- Berger, Luciana (Labour) Liverpool, Wavertree
- Bradshaw, Mr Ben (Labour) Exeter
- Brennan, Kevin (Labour) Cardiff West
- Brown, Lyn (Labour) West Ham
- Bryant, Chris (Labour) Rhondda
- Buck, Ms Karen (Labour) Westminster North
- Butler, Dawn (Labour) Brent Central
- Cadbury, Ruth (Labour) Brentford and Isleworth
- Clwyd, Ann (Labour) Cynon Valley
- Coffey, Ann (Labour) Stockport
- Coyle, Neil (Labour) Bermondsey and Old Southwark
- Creagh, Mary (Labour) Wakefield
- Creasy, Stella (Labour) Walthamstow
- Debbonaire, Thangam (Labour) Bristol West
- Doughty, Stephen (Labour) Cardiff South and Penarth
- Dowd, Jim (Labour) Lewisham West and Penge
- Eagle, Maria (Labour) Garston and Halewood
- Ellman, Mrs Louise (Labour) Liverpool, Riverside
- Farrelly, Paul (Labour) Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Foxcroft, Vicky (Labour) Lewisham, Deptford
- Gapes, Mike (Labour) Ilford South
- Greenwood, Lilian (Labour) Nottingham South
- Hayes, Helen (Labour) Dulwich and West Norwood
- Hillier, Meg (Labour) Hackney South and Shoreditch
- Huq, Dr Rupa (Labour) Ealing Central and Acton
- Kyle, Peter (Labour) Hove
- Lammy, Mr David (Labour) Tottenham
- Maskell, Rachael (Labour) York Central
- McCarthy, Kerry (Labour) Bristol East
- McKinnell, Catherine (Labour) Newcastle upon Tyne North
- Moon, Mrs Madeleine (Labour) Bridgend
- Murray, Ian (Labour) Edinburgh South
- Pound, Stephen (Labour) Ealing North
- Sharma, Mr Virendra (Labour) Ealing, Southall
- Siddiq, Tulip (Labour) Hampstead and Kilburn
- Slaughter, Andy (Labour) Hammersmith
- Smith, Jeff (Labour) Manchester, Withington
- Smith, Owen (Labour) Pontypridd
- Stevens, Jo (Labour) Cardiff Central
- Timms, Stephen (Labour) East Ham
- West, Catherine (Labour) Hornsey and Wood Green
- Whitehead, Dr Alan (Labour) Southampton, Test
- Zeichner, Daniel (Labour) Cambridge
- Clarke, Mr Kenneth (Conservative) Rushcliffe
- Ahmed-Sheikh, Ms Tasmina (Scottish National Party) Ochil and South Perthshire
- Arkless, Richard (Scottish National Party) Dumfries and Galloway
- Bardell, Hannah (Scottish National Party) Livingston
- Black, Mhairi (Scottish National Party) Paisley and Renfrewshire South
- Blackford, Ian (Scottish National Party) Ross, Skye and Lochaber
- Blackman, Kirsty (Scottish National Party) Aberdeen North
- Boswell, Philip (Scottish National Party) Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
- Brock, Deidre (Scottish National Party) Edinburgh North and Leith
- Brown, Alan (Scottish National Party) Kilmarnock and Loudoun
- Cameron, Dr Lisa (Scottish National Party) East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
- Chapman, Douglas (Scottish National Party) Dunfermline and West Fife
- Cherry, Joanna (Scottish National Party) Edinburgh South West
- Cowan, Ronnie (Scottish National Party) Inverclyde
- Crawley, Angela (Scottish National Party) Lanark and Hamilton East
- Day, Martyn (Scottish National Party) Linlithgow and East Falkirk
- Docherty-Hughes, Martin (Scottish National Party) West Dunbartonshire
- Donaldson, Stuart Blair (Scottish National Party) West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
- Ferrier, Margaret (Scottish National Party) Rutherglen and Hamilton West
- Gethins, Stephen (Scottish National Party) North East Fife
- Gibson, Patricia (Scottish National Party) North Ayrshire and Arran
- Grady, Patrick (Scottish National Party) Glasgow North
- Grant, Peter (Scottish National Party) Glenrothes
- Gray, Neil (Scottish National Party) Airdrie and Shotts
- Hendry, Drew (Scottish National Party) Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
- Hosie, Stewart (Scottish National Party) Dundee East
- Kerevan, George (Scottish National Party) East Lothian
- Kerr, Calum (Scottish National Party) Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
- Law, Chris (Scottish National Party) Dundee West
- Mc Nally, John (Scottish National Party) Falkirk
- McDonald, Stewart Malcolm(Scottish National Party) Glasgow South
- McDonald, Stuart C. (Scottish National Party) Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
- McLaughlin, Anne (Scottish National Party) Glasgow North East
- MacNeil, Angus Brendan (Scottish National Party) Na h-Eileanan an Iar
- Monaghan, Carol (Scottish National Party) Glasgow North West
- Monaghan, Dr Paul (Scottish National Party) Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
- Mullin, Roger (Scottish National Party) Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
- Newlands, Gavin (Scottish National Party) Paisley and Renfrewshire North
- Nicolson, John (Scottish National Party) East Dunbartonshire
- O’Hara, Brendan (Scottish National Party) Argyll and Bute
- Oswald, Kirsten (Scottish National Party) East Renfrewshire
- Paterson, Steven (Scottish National Party) Stirling
- Robertson, Angus (Scottish National Party) Moray
- Salmond, Alex (Scottish National Party) Gordon
- Sheppard, Tommy (Scottish National Party) Edinburgh East
- Stephens, Chris (Scottish National Party) Glasgow South West
- Thewliss, Alison (Scottish National Party) Glasgow Central
- Weir, Mike (Scottish National Party) Angus
- Whiteford, Dr Eilidh (Scottish National Party) Banff and Buchan
- Whitford, Dr Philippa (Scottish National Party) Central Ayrshire
- Wishart, Pete (Scottish National Party) Perth and North Perthshire
- Brake, Tom (Liberal Democrat) Carshalton and Wallington
- Carmichael, Mr Alistair (Liberal Democrat) Orkney and Shetland
- Clegg, Mr Nick (Liberal Democrat) Sheffield, Hallam
- Farron, Tim (Liberal Democrat) Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Olney, Sarah (Liberal Democrat) Richmond Park
- Pugh, John (Liberal Democrat) Southport
- Williams, Mr Mark (Liberal Democrat) Ceredigion
- Durkan, Mark (Social Democratic & Labour Party) Foyle
- McDonnell, Dr Alasdair (Social Democratic & Labour Party) Belfast South
- Ritchie, Ms Margaret (Social Democratic & Labour Party) South Down
- McGarry, Natalie (Independent) Glasgow East
- Thomson, Michelle (Independent) Edinburgh West
- Hermon, Lady (Independent) North Down
- Saville Roberts, Liz (Plaid Cymru) Dwyfor Meirionnydd
- Williams, Hywel (Plaid Cymru) Arfon
- Lucas, Caroline (Green Party) Brighton, Pavilion
But passionate pro-EU Tory MP Neil Carmichael, who also backed the Brexit green light, said he had done so with “a very, very heart”.
MPs debated the bill for a further six and a half hours yesterday, after almost 12 hours in the Commons doing it on Tuesday.
During it, Remain and Leave backing Tory MPs united to warn of “a crisis in democracy” if the Commons defied the referendum result and shot down Article 50.
An earlier amendment by the SNP to try to kill because it didn’t give the Scottish government enough of a say was thrown out by 336 to 100, a majority of 236.
There will be a final Commons vote next Wednesday when the bill gets its third reading, before being passed to the Lords after half term recess.
A series of pro-EU Tory MPs have threatened to side with Labour next week to try to stop the PM walking away from the EU with no Brexit deal without Parliament’s say so.
The PM revealed during PMQs yesterday that she will fulfil her promise to publish a white paper blueprint of her negotiation aims in the Commons on Thursday.
Government sources said it would be a “substantial” document, not just a few pages long, and based on the 12 aims spelled out in her Lancaster House speech two weeks ago.
