MPs clashed over the handing the government the right to dismiss parliament and control the Brexit agenda and the right for parliament to prevent no-deal by any means necessary.
Opposition MPs have lost a crucial vote on an attempt to block a future Conservative prime minister from pursuing a no-deal Brexit.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was overheard rebuking MPs, saying that they “won’t be cheering in September” as they celebrated the defeat of the motion.
Labour sources admitted that there was concern that Tories who may be inclined to back the motion would instead remain loyal to the party line until a new leader had been chosen. Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, and Esther McVey, the ex-work and pensions secretary, have refused to rule out suspending parliament to prevent MPs from voting down a no-deal Brexit in September.
In the debate preceding the vote, Starmer claimed that MPs had been forced to act due to declared intentions by Tory leadership candidates such as Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab to prorogue parliament.
Brexit secretary, Steve Barclay, labelled the bill an unacceptable “blind motion” that would give MPs a “virtually unlimited scope” to prevent no-deal.