Today’s political headlines include May abandoning the Brexit vote, May confirming she will not revoke Article 50, Corbyn resisting pressure to hold a vote of no confidence and whips accused of doing too little too late.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May abandons Brexit vote for further talks on the backstop<\/span> May will not revoke Article 50<\/span> Corbyn resists pressure to hold vote of no confidence<\/span> Whips accused of doing \u2018too little, too late\u2019<\/span> Bercow accuses May of being \u2018deeply discourteous\u2019<\/span> MP grabs mace in protest<\/span> Stansted 15 convicted in \u2018unprecedented crackdown in the right to protest\u2019<\/span> Speaker could be investigated for bullying \u2018within weeks\u2019<\/span>
\n<\/strong>As\u00a0The Times\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>, yesterday Theresa May announced that she was deferring the vote on her Brexit deal, admitting she would have lost it by a \u2018significant margin\u2019. Instead, the Prime Minister is visiting European leaders in an attempt to secure further \u2018reassurances\u2019 about the Northern Ireland backstop. According to diplomats, the EU would be prepared to sign a \u2018letter of intent\u2019 promising to work to avoid the backstop coming into use.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has confirmed that she will not revoke Article 50, because doing so \u2018would mean going back on the vote of the referendum\u2019. Yesterday, the European Court of Justice ruled that the UK could revoke its notification without needing permission from the EU.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that Jeremy Corbyn is resisting pressure from Labour MPs, including 38 who signed a letter organised by Ian Murray, and other party leaders, such as Nicola Sturgeon who challenged him on Twitter yesterday, to table a vote of no confidence in Theresa May. The paper suggests this is because it would cause Labour\u2019s \u2018fudged\u2019 Brexit policy to unravel, potentially forcing it to back another referendum.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Conservative whips have been accused of doing \u2018too little, too late\u2019 to ensure the support of Tory MPs for the deal. According to the paper, some backbenchers weren\u2019t contacted until Saturday to find out how they\u2019d be voting, despite Chief Whip Julian Smith promising to get support for the deal at a Cabinet meeting three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Express\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that Commons Speaker John Bercow accused Theresa May of being \u2018deeply discourteous\u2019 for calling off today\u2019s Brexit vote, suggesting that MPs should get to vote on the postponement although he admitted that it did not need to be put to the vote.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Mirror<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle grabbed the House of Commons mace yesterday in protest at Theresa May\u2019s decision to scrap the planned vote, which he said was \u2018disgraceful\u2019. He was then barred from the House for the rest of the day by the Speaker.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that the Stansted 15, protesters who took direct action against a deportation flight from the airport, have been convicted of terrorist offences introduced after Lockerbie, the first time these have been used against a non-violent protest. One activist said his conviction was an \u2018unprecedented crackdown on the right to protest\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Sun<\/em>, allegations of bullying against Commons Speaker John Bercow could be investigated \u2018within weeks\u2019 after the Commons Standards Committee called for a rule blocking the investigation of complaints which are over seven years old without its permission to be abandoned. MPs are expected to approve the change before Christmas, and Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has confirmed that he will then resubmit a complaint.<\/p>\n