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Theresa May suffers another key defeat after Lords votes to kill off any prospect of a 'no deal' Brexit

Parliament will decide the next steps if the prime minister’s exit deal is rejected in the autumn – unless the defeat is reversed in the Commons

Deputy Political Editor

Monday 30 April 2018 18:04 BST

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House of Lords votes out prospect of UK leaving EU with 'no deal'

Theresa May has suffered a crucial Brexit defeat after the House of Lords voted to kill off any prospect of the UK crashing out of the EU with “no deal”.

Peers voted by 335 votes to 244 to ensure parliament – rather than the government – decides the next steps if the prime minister’s exit deal is rejected in the autumn.

Unless the defeat is overturned in the Commons, it increases the chances of softening the deal and sending the government back to the negotiating table if the agreement is rejected.

Earlier, Lord Callanan, a Brexit minister, refused to commit to reversing the vote, saying: “Let’s wait and see what happens – then we will decide our position in the House of Commons.”

The caution may reflect confidence among some Conservatives that there is also enough support in the Commons for the cross-party plan.

The prime minister and other ministers have repeatedly insisted that rejection of her deal will simply mean the UK leaving the EU, in March next year, with no agreement at all.

For that reason, Sir Keir Starmer Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, hailed the thumping defeat as “a hugely significant moment in the fight to ensure parliament has a proper role”.

“If parliament votes down the Article 50 deal, then parliament must decide what happens next, Sir Keir said.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

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1/8The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Post-Brexit immigration

workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Customs union

A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that “Brexit means Brexit” and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UK’s economic outlook become clearer.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Northern Ireland-Irish border

Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Party’s coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a “specific solution” would need to be found.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Transition period

Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Rights of EU citizens living the UK

The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreement (with the EU)

Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Future trade agreements (internationally)

The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period.

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The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU

Financial services

Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period.

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“Under no circumstances can the prime minister be given a blank cheque to crash the UK out of the EU without a deal.

“I would urge the prime minister to accept this cross-party amendment and recognise that there is no majority in parliament or the country for a no deal Brexit.”

Viscount Hailsham, the former Tory minister who tabled the amendment, said it was aimed at ensuring “that the future of our country is determined by parliament and not by ministers”.

“In democracies, both parliament and the electorate have the right to change their minds. Unchangeable decisions have no place in a democracy,” he added.

And Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green party and supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said it raised the prospects of a fresh referendum on the exit deal.

“MPs should respond by ensuring the public are also able to express their view on the final Brexit deal, which will affect generations for generations to come,” she said.

A total of 19 Conservative peers defied the government to back the amendment, including former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine and former cabinet ministers Lord Patten and Lord Willetts.

It is the second crushing defeat inflicted by the Lords on the main Brexit bill, after last week’s vote to keep the UK in a customs union after departure.

The Brexit department said it was “disappointed” by the vote – but again stepped short of committing to reversing it.

“What this amendment would do is weaken the UK’s hand in our negotiations with the EU by giving parliament unprecedented powers to instruct the government to do anything with regard to the negotiations – including trying to keep the UK in the EU indefinitely,” it warned.

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