2019 January

We have had two years of “road to Brexit” speeches. We stagger from vote to vote, from week to week. Today, we heard the Foreign Secretary make an announcement on the radio that Brexit may have to be delayed. Is that the way to run a Government—informing people outside the House before the Speaker or the House has been informed?

Following the defeat of the Government’s deeply flawed Brexit deal in Parliament by a record margin of 230 votes, the Prime Minister set out the Government’s response on 21 January 2019. This included precious little detail on how the Government seeks to proceed, other than that “conversations” would be held on next steps and that the Government would then “take the conclusions” of this back to the EU.

On 28 January 2019 I responded to the debate on proxy voting for parental absence. The House approved a 12-month pilot scheme of proxy voting for MPs who are absent from the House by reason of childbirth or care of an infant or newly-adopted child, and also for those who have suffered a miscarriage, an amendment which was agreed by the Government.

At Business Questions I raised that the Prime Minister did not say in her statement whether her deal would be brought back to Parliament. I asked the Leader of the House whether it is the Government’s intention to bring back a second meaningful vote to the House?