As Dominic Raab headed to Brussels for his first meeting with Michel Barnier since his appointment as Brexit Secretary, all eyes were on the drama unfolding in Westminster. Theresa May’s Chief Whip Julian Smith found himself in hot water over a pairing arrangement that went wrong in this week’s crunch customs union vote.
On Tuesday, Jo Swinson was quick to cry foul after the Liberal Democrat MP discovered that Brandon Lewis – Tory party chairman – voted with the government on two crunch amendments. The problem? As Swinson has just given birth, she was supposed to be on a pairing arrangement with Lewis which meant neither would vote – and it would thereby cancel out their absences. Initially both Lewis and Smith said it was an honest mistake and apologised to Swinson. However, the Times reports that Smith actually urged three Tory MPs to abandon ‘pairing’ arrangements before the knife-edge vote on Tuesday.
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