Boris Johnson dealt blow as Brexit rebels vote to seize control

The government has lost the first substantive vote of Boris Johnson’s premiership by a margin of 27 – 301 to 328.

The result suggests a significant number of Conservative lawmakers voted with the opposition – a blow to Boris Johnson.

The rebels voted against the government despite warnings from Johnson that they would be kicked out of the Conservative Party and prevented from running for the party in any future election.

Lawmakers have voted in favor of seizing control of parliamentary business tomorrow, in a major defeat for Boris Johnson.

The result means Parliament will attempt to pass a bill Wednesday vote that could block a no-deal Brexit.

Parliament has gone straight to business.

Speaker John Bercow has called for lawmakers to decide on whether to seize control of the parliamentary agenda on Wednesday, when they will try to pass a bill that would block a no-deal Brexit.

Parliamentarians are now voting by walking into the two division lobbies, the corridors that run along either side of the main chamber.

It’s getting late in Parliament and some lawmakers are starting to appear a bit tired.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a lawmaker famously keen on parliamentary traditions and protocol, looks like he is taking a nap mid-debate.

The cameras inside the debating chamber caught the Leader of the House reclining on the front bench – a moment promptly seized upon by his critics.

It is not clear what exactly was Rees-Mogg doing there.

Loudspeakers are embedded in the tops of the benches in the House, so he could have been listening to the debate through those. Sometimes, MPs also duck in their seats in order for the person behind them to be clearly visible to cameras.

Thought things were complicated enough? Wait for this: If Parliament decides tonight to vote on a bill seeking to block a no-deal Brexit on Wednesday, a small group of Labour MPs will try to amend that bill to call for the original withdrawal agreement negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May to be considered again.

Lawmakers have rejected May’s deal three times and there is no reason to believe a new vote would yield a different result.

One of the group, which is calling itself “Labour MPs for a Deal” tweeted the proposal:

Boris Johnson’s office has refused to confirm that the size of UK’s Brexit negotiating team had been slashed since the Prime Minister took over, saying only that lead negotiator David Frost would be accompanied by “a small team of civil servants” on his trip to Brussels on Wednesday.

“David Frost will be accompanied to Brussels [on his trip tomorrow] by a small team of civil servants with relevant Brexit, trade and legal expertise,” a Downing Street spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday, when asked about reports in the UK media that the negotiating team had been reduced to less than a quarter of what it was under Prime Minister Theresa May. 

“They will be supported by the UKREP team already based in Brussels,” the spokesperson also said. “The team intend to run through a range of issues with Taskforce 50, including the backstop.”

Meanwhile in Brussels, diplomats warn the European Union and the United Kingdom are not ready to reach an agreement.

A UK official in Brussels with knowledge of the current Brexit technical talks told CNN on Tuesday the two sides “remain some distance apart on key issues.”

The official said:

Leaving the European Union without a deal would cost the UK about 7% of its exports to the bloc, according to a report by the UN global trade agency UNCTAD published on Tuesday. The agency said:

Europe is the UK’s biggest trading partner but leaving without a deal will mean the imposition of tariffs on British exports, making them less competitive.

UNCTAD said motor vehicles ($5 billion), animal products ($2 billion) and apparel and textiles (about $2 billion) would account for most of the lost exports. And it cautioned that its estimate was conservative.

Anna Soubry, a member of Parliament who left the Conservative Party earlier this year, said she was prepared to lose her job over her decision to vote against Boris Johnson’s government.

“I am quite happy and willing to lose my job, but I am dammed if I am going to see the jobs of my constituents and the life-chances of their children and grandchildren reduced,” she said, referring to the possibility that she could be voted out of office at the next general election.

Anna Soubry said she is willing to lose her job over the Brexit vote.

Soubry was elected as a Conservative, but has since left the party. She is now the leader of The Independent Group for Change – a group of independent lawmakers that was formed ahead of the EU elections in May. Ultimately, the new party received little support from voters.

Kenneth Clarke, a veteran lawmaker, has delivered a long speech in favor of the motion, saying Parliament must stand up and block a no-deal Brexit.

He argued that Britain must stay closely aligned with the European Union, its biggest trading partner, following Brexit, and dismissed the claims that anyone who tried to stop a no-deal Brexit was trying to reverse the result of the referendum.

“I voted for Brexit three times,” he said, referring to the fact that he supported the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May.

Ken Clarke has repeatedly argued against a no-deal Brexit.

Clarke also mocked those who argue that the UK will be fine exiting the EU without a future deal and trading on World Trade Organization terms.

“North Korea is doing just fine with no deal in trade with anywhere else and operating under WTO rules,” he said sarcastically to roars of laughter in the chamber.

Clarke is well-respected by all sides in Parliament. He has served in a number of senior cabinet posts, including as the treasury chief and the home secretary, and is the current “Father of the House” – a title given to the longest-serving member of Parliament.