MPs are lining up to say why they won’t be voting for Theresa May’s Brexit deal

Theresa May
Emily Apple


On 15 January, Theresa May’s Brexit deal is finally going to the vote. If the predictions are right, and May loses by more than 100 votes, the PM could be facing the largest parliamentary defeat in 95 years.

Regardless of the margin, it’s expected the deal will fall. And MPs have taken to social media to say why they won’t be voting for it.

Achieving the unachievable

May has achieved one thing no one thought possible. She’s united her party against her, with both Leavers and Remainers unhappy with the deal (albeit for different reasons).

Arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, for example, is planning to oppose it:

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And on the other side of the party, fervent Remainer Anna Soubry will also vote against the agreement:

Even receiving a knighthood wasn’t enough to persuade John Redwood to change his vote:

Seriously, no one’s happy

But it’s not just the Conservative Party. As Labour’s Laura Pidcock states, May “can’t satisfy the Remainers or the Leavers on any side of the House of Commons”:

The DUP, which even on a good day May is relying on to prop up her government, has said its MPs won’t vote for the deal:

Meanwhile, SNP MPs who are representing constituents who voted overwhelmingly to Remain, will also vote against the withdrawal agreement. One MP even did a snap poll of his constituents:

What comes next?

So, it’s looking as though at some point tonight, defeat will be inevitable for May. But the big question is what will come next? Some MPs, like the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas, believe it means it’s time for a People’s Vote:

Meanwhile, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner thinks there should be a general election:

Tonight’s vote by MPs is described as a “meaningful vote”. Those campaigning for a second referendum want a “people’s vote”. But only a general election will provide a truly meaningful people’s vote.

Rayner is right. We need a general election. Because this government is a shambles. And not just over Brexit. But over what Corbyn described as the “real divide in our country” – the divide between the rich and the poor.

Featured image via screengrab/Parliament TV

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