Given this morning’s ministerial resignation, all looked set fair for an afternoon of high drama in the Commons over the EU Withdrawal Bill. In the end, though, the drama was rather quieter, with the government managing to persuade the Remainer rebels to stand down – temporarily – on the matter of a ‘meaningful vote’. Chief Whip Julian Smith spent the majority of the debate buzzing about the Chamber, consulting with ministers and backbenchers and also beckoning MPs out of the room in little groups. It is since clear that Smith was negotiating the compromise that Solicitor General Robert Buckland started offering during the debate.
Initially, Buckland offered the rebels ‘structured discussions’ on the matter. Then he suggested that the government would accept the first two sections of the amendment, tabled by Dominic Grieve. These would give MPs the power to approve or direct the government’s approach if the Commons rejected the Brexit deal.
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