Brexit votes result: Bid to resurrect Theresa May’s deal passes by default

A bid to bring Theresa May’s final Brexit deal back to the Commons has been passed by MPs without a vote.

The development plunged Parliament into confusion just as MPs were passing a Bill to block no-deal by delaying the UK’s departure from the EU.

Moments before the vote on Wednesday night, Stephen Kinnock asked MPs to vote on his amendment, which would create a vote on Mrs May’s long-dead deal.

Then, in bizarre scenes, the Labour MP’s amendment was approved automatically because nobody from the government volunteered to count the ‘no’ votes.

This means that due to a technicality, the amendment is now part of the Bill and will become law if it is passed by the House of Lords.

The amendment concerns the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which was never put before Parliament as Mrs May was ousted as leader before she was able to put it to a vote.

There had been suggestions that Mr Kinnock’s amendment, which seeks to bring back Mrs May’s deal that offered concessions following cross-party talks, was passed by mistake.

Amid the confusion, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg wrote on Twitter: “It looks like the Kinnock amendment to put Theresa May’s deal back to the Commons for another vote just went through by mistake…. things are getting very very odd around here indeed.”

The Spectator’s James Forsyth said: “So, Theresa May’s Brexit deal has got further tonight—with her out of office—than it ever did with her in office. Strange times…”

And the Mirror’s political editor Pippa Crerar wrote: “It looks like this was a deliberate ploy by the Government who didn’t put up tellers. Sources suggesting that Labour could now strip the Kinnock amendment in the Lords.

It came as Boris Johnson suffered a double Commons defeat with MPs backing a bill to block a no deal exit from the EU – and then rejecting his move to trigger a snap General Election.

Mr Kinnock, moving the proposal to bring back Mrs May’s agreement, had told the Commons: “It is a travesty that Parliament did not get to vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill as it was very different to the former prime minister’s blind Brexit and provided far more clarity on EU and UK relations.”

He continued: “The failure to compromise has played into the hands of the no-dealers, and the legal default is to leave without a deal.”

Mr Kinnock implied that with hindsight, if the Withdrawal Agreement Bill had been voted on by MPs, it may have passed.

He said: “I think many of us wish a crystal ball had been handed out when we first came to this place.”

Mr Kinnock added: “Our side was ready to accept a deal and now a way should be found to put that deal back on the table.”

Labour’s Caroline Flint also said: “Many of my colleagues regret not voting for a deal and they are dealing with that right now.

“What we’re trying to do from the backbenches and maybe both frontbenches could listen to this, is actually what we want to identify and agree is that there is much in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill where there is consensus across the House.

“It isn’t the only deal and our amendment asks us to reflect on it and build on it, but for goodness sake we have to move on and there is an increasingly loud voice in this House, across the House, wanting a consensus to move forward.”

Additional reporting by Press Association