Following close ally Clive Lewis' resignation last night, Jeremy Corbyn was in a surprisingly defiant mood over Brexit negotiations, despite none of his amendments getting voted through parliament. 'The government doesn't have a blank cheque over Brexit,' Corbyn said, despite parliament essentially granting Prime Minister Theresa May carte blanche in negotiations.
'We will fight for concessions'
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said his party will 'fight for concessions,' but they will be nigh on impossible to deliver given parliament's backing of Brexit.
Corbyn said: 'On 23rd June, there was a referendum and a decision was made by the people of this country. They no longer wanted to be in the European Union and we have to carry that out as efficiently as possible. The government doesn't have a blank cheque to turn Britain into an offshore tax haven. All it has is the authority to start negotiations with Europe'.
Last night, the Brexit bill passed with 494 ayes and 122 noes. Sixty Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn's three line whip to vote against the triggering of article 50. Clive Lewis, the shadow business secretary and close ally of Corbyn, resigned, citing 'I couldn't vote against my conscience'. Lewis is the fourth cabinet minister to resign rather than obey Corbyn's whip and is the most influential name to resign over the matter.
No crisis, according to Corbyn
The Labour leader rejected claims that Labour was in crisis over Brexit. Corbyn said: 'Clive's resignation is not a disaster. Most labour mps voted to trigger article 50. The Labour MPs that didn't vote to trigger article 50 voted with their constituents'. When asked by reporters about his future as Labour leader, Corbyn denied claims that he had set a timetable for his departure before lambasting BBC for reporting 'fake news'.
David Davis, the Brexit secretary, welcomed the vote: “We have witnessed a historic vote tonight – the vast majority of parliament are for getting on with negotiating our exit from the European Union and wish to forge strong partnerships with Europe'.
