British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suffered a defeat in the Commons as Tory rebels and opposition MPs won the first stage of their attempt to pass a law designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.
- BBC
The Commons voted 328 to 301 to take control of the agenda, meaning they can bring forward a bill seeking to delay the UK's exit date.
In total, 21 Tory MPs, including a number of ex-cabinet ministers, joined opposition parties to defeat the government.
After the vote, Downing Street said those Tory MPs who rebelled would have the whip removed, effectively expelling them from the parliamentary party.
Mr Johnson said he would table a motion for a general election, because that would be the only way to resolve the issue if MPs voted for a Brexit delay.
"The leader of the opposition has been begging for an election for two years," he said.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is driven away from the Houses of Parliament after suffering a major parliamentary defeat in an emergency debate over his Brexit strategy on Tuesday. Photo: Oli SCARFF / AFP
"I don't want an election but if MPs vote tomorrow to compel another pointless delay to Brexit then that would be the only way to resolve this.
"I can confirm that we are tonight tabling a motion under the Fixed Term Parliament Act."
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Johnson must get the Brexit delay bill that will be discussed on Wednesday passed before trying to call an election.
Jeremy Corbyn Photo: Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP
Conservative MP Phillip Lee defected to the Liberal Democrats ahead of the showdown, meaning the prime minister no longer had a working majority.
Dr Lee, the MP for Bracknell, took his seat on the opposition benches as the PM addressed the Commons.
Mr Johnson said the MPs' bill would "hand control" of Brexit negotiations to the EU and bring "more dither, more delay, more confusion".
The vote - defeating the government - means MPs will be able to take control of Commons business on Wednesday.
That will give them the chance to introduce a cross-party bill which would force the prime minister to ask for Brexit to be delayed until 31 January, unless MPs approve a new deal, or vote in favour of a no-deal exit, by 19 October.
The BBC is reporting the government intends to hold an election on 15 October, two days before a crucial EU summit in Brussels.
To call an election under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, Mr Johnson would need support from Labour as he requires the backing of two-thirds of the UK's 650 MPs.
But Mr Corbyn said the legislation backed by opposition MPs and Tory rebels should pass before any election was held, to "take no deal off the table".
The BBC's chief political correspondent, Vicki Young, said the government was framing the situation as the Labour leader trying to block Brexit, and that would be its argument going into a general election.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said he was "delighted" that MPs had expressed a "very clear view" in favour of a law to block no deal.
"Boris Johnson and his government must respect the right of parliamentarians to represent the interests of their constituents," he said.
"Yes, there must be an election, but an election follows on from securing an extension to the [Brexit deadline]."
Speaking in the Commons earlier, Mr Johnson told MPs he wanted a negotiated exit from the EU and insisted there was "real momentum" behind the talks with Brussels.
Photo: PRU / AFP
He said he would travel to Dublin on Monday for discussions with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, focused on proposed alternative arrangements to the Irish border backstop - a key sticking point in the negotiations.
Asked to provide evidence of progress by several Tory MPs, he said he would not negotiate in public but reassured them he would give details of the UK's proposals well before the end of September to meet a deadline set by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But he said the moves by MPs, including Conservatives, to pass legislation effectively blocking a no-deal exit on 31 October would "destroy any chance of negotiating a new deal".
If the rebels succeeded in their aims, Mr Johnson said it would force him to go to Brussels to "beg for another pointless delay" to Brexit and he would "never" do that.
"It is Jeremy Corbyn's surrender bill. It means running up the white flag," he added.
MP Phillip Lee, who has defect from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats. Photo: AFP
Before Dr Lee's defection, Mr Johnson only had a working majority of one in the Commons.
In a letter to the prime minister, Dr Lee said Brexit divisions had "sadly transformed this once great party into something more akin to a narrow faction in which one's Conservatism is measured by how recklessly one wants to leave the European Union".
"Perhaps more disappointingly, it has become infected by the twin diseases of English nationalism and populism."
He told BBC Radio 4's PM the "bullying" of MPs opposed to no deal showed the "tone and culture" of the Conservative Party had fundamentally changed, and he knew of other like-minded colleagues who were also considering their futures.
Welcoming her latest recruit, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said they would work together to prevent a "disastrous Brexit" which would do untold damage to the NHS and other public services.
Dr Lee's decision to cross the floor - following that of ex-Tory MP Sarah Wollaston last month - was greeted with cheers on the opposition benches.
The SNP's leader in Parliament, Ian Blackford, said Dr Lee's defection capped what he said was the "shortest-lived honeymoon period ever" for a new prime minister.
He said his party was ready for a general election at any time.
But veteran Tory Ken Clarke, one of those set to rebel later, said the PM's strategy was to "set conditions which make no deal inevitable, to make sure as much blame as possible is attached to the EU, and as quickly as he can fight a flag-waving election before the consequences of a no deal become too obvious to the public".
- BBC / Reuters
