That was certainly true of last night’s mammoth Commons defeat for Theresa May’s Brexit deal. A government defeat by 230 was, by some distance, the largest genuine government defeat in the Commons for at least 100 years. Since 1918, the largest previous defeat – on a vote the government both whipped and properly contested – was the 166 by which the first Labour (minority) government went down in 1924. Post-war, there was a defeat by 89 in 1979 (on a very low turnout) and the largest post-war defeat where at least 50 per cent of the House voted came in 1978, with the Callaghan government defeated by 86 votes. Last night, 86 would have seemed like a victory.

Source: The Times January 16, 2019 06:00 UTC