Westminster has been a febrile place for months, but today, as the meaningful vote on Theresa May’s Brexit vote approaches, it has tipped into something quite different. The streets around the House of Commons are lined with protesters from all sides, clutching placards, ringing bells and chanting. Flags are swirling, balloons are bobbling in the air, and drivers are honking their horns – though having cycled through the crowd earlier, I’m not sure whether the horns are necessarily ones of support for one group or another, or actually just drivers trying to stop people wandering out in front of them in the road.
Inside the parliamentary estate, though, the mood is rather more studied. The Tory whips are working on two problems: the first being the size of tonight’s defeat, and the second being the likely vote of no confidence in the government that Jeremy Corbyn will table afterwards.
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