The concessions meant that the set of votes on the government’s latest Brexit motion, tabled in lieu of a still-elusive revised departure plan, was the first without a defeat for May. In a statement afterwards Jeremy Corbyn said Labour would back a public vote while also pushing for “other available options”, including a general election and Labour’s own Brexit plan. It decrees that the government should guarantee the rights of EU nationals as soon as possible “whatever the outcome of negotiations” on Brexit. Costa, the son of Italian immigrants, has been quietly lobbying May over EU citizens’ rights for two years. Summing up for the government, the Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, said ministers would honour the commitments of Cooper’s amendment.

Source: The Guardian February 27, 2019 21:02 UTC