Katy Balls Katy Balls

What happens if the government loses today’s vote?

It’s that time of the week again: crunch time for Theresa May. Tomorrow MPs will vote again on Dominic Grieve’s meaningful vote amendment along with the government’s ‘compromise’ meaningful vote amendment. The problem with that compromise is it’s already been rejected by several Remain Tory rebels – who say the Prime Minister personally misled them last week on the issue. The problem with their preferred amendment is that it has been rejected by the government on the grounds that it would tie their hands in the negotiations.

Only one side can come out of this the winner. Government figures are sounding increasingly confident that they have the numbers to defeat Grieve’s amendment. He hasn’t helped himself with his talk of collapsing the government, a step too far for all but the most hardcore Tory rebels, and DexEU is seen as having masterminded a ‘divide and rule’ approach which has peeled off some of the more pragmatic Remain rebels.

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