The vote for Amendment A to May’s deal, also called the “Spelman Amendment” for the Conservative lawmaker who proposed it, was barely passed by the House of Commons, with 312 votes for and 308 against. Caroline Spelman’s amendment simply said, in no uncertain terms, that parliamentarians would commit themselves to avoiding a no-deal Brexit by passing some kind of agreement with Brussels for what a post-Brexit relationship will look like before the UK leaves the EU on March 29.
The other amendment, F, colloquially called the “Malthouse B” Amendment after Housing Minister Kit Malthouse, aims to create a framework for a so-called “managed no-deal Brexit,” providing a way forward in case Parliament fails to affirm a deal with Brussels. Lawmakers firmly rejected the proposal, a compromise between Remainers and Euroskeptics that would have steered around the economic trauma of a raw no-deal exit and instead focused on minimizing disruption through “mini-deals” by both London and Brussels. The vote was 164 for and 374 against.
A third vote Wednesday further affirmed Parliament’s conviction to reject a no-deal Brexit under any circumstances — it passed 321 for and 278 against.
In comments following the votes, May said, “The legal default in UK and EU law remains that the UK will leave the EU without a total deal unless… something else is agreed. The onus is now on every one of us in that house to find out what that is.”
She reiterated that a no-deal Brexit would damage the “fragile trust between the British public” and the House of Commons. We could seek to negotiate a different deal, however, the EU has been clear that the deal on the table is the only deal available.”