Government Defeat: A Game Changer?

Yesterday’s cross party victory over the government was interesting. Dismissed by ministers as a minor inconvenience and procedural, it is not a game changer in itself. It has also emerged that parliament cannot directly stop a No Deal Brexit by simply passing an amendment prohibiting it. Therefore if it cannot agree either to May’s plan or some other, no deal is the default position enshrined in both EU and UK law. What yesterday’s vote reveals is that if the hard Brexiteers have a strategic plan to push for no deal, there are enough Tory MP’s willing to put country above party to bring the government down. That is a game changer.