Corbyn tables no confidence vote after May’s Brexit plan rejected

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a no confidence in the government just minutes after Theresa May’s Brexit deal was rejected by MPs in the House of Commons.

Leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom, shortly after announced that MPs will vote on the no confidence motion at 7:00pm GMT on Wednesday.

Addressing MPs after the vote, Corbyn noted that this is the biggest defeat any government has suffered since the 1920s and is the result of May failing to reach out to opposition parties during the negotiation process with the EU.

He also said that the government should accept that the UK will remain in the customs union indefinitely and that a no deal Brexit is not an option.

The Labour leader urged MPs to express their discontent in the ‘incompetence of this government’ during the no confidence vote that will be debated on Wednesday evening.

EU urges Britain to cancel Brexit

President of the European Council Donald Tusk appeared to appeal to British MPs to cancel Brexit in tweet moments after May’s Brexit deal was defeated in parliament.

‘If a deal is impossible, and no one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is?’ he said.

Shortly after that, a spokesperson for the European Council issued a statement expressing its regret in the outcome of the Brexit vote and urged the UK government to provide clarity over what its intentions are moving forward as soon as possible.

‘We will continue our preparations for all outcomes, including a no-deal scenario. The risk of a disorderly exit has increased with this vote, and while we do not want this to happen, we will be prepared for it.

‘We will continue the EU’s process of ratification of the agreement reached with the UK government. This agreement is and remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.’

May suffers historic defeat

After suffering the largest government defeat in history, the prime minister acknowledged it, stating that ‘the House has spoken and the government will listen’.

However, she was critical of MPs that opposed her Brexit deal, contending that while the House does not support her withdrawal agreement with the EU, it is unclear what it does support.

‘Tonight’s vote tells us nothing about what it does support,’ she said. ‘Nothing about how - or even if - it intends to honour the decision the British people took in a referendum parliament decided to hold.’

The vote leaves many businesses, investors and citizens left wondering what will happen next, with the prospect of no Brexit, a second referendum and Britain bailing out of the bloc without a deal all now a possibility.