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Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence after the crushing defeat of Theresa May's Brexit deal by MPs. What does this mean?

What is a no confidence motion?

A vote of no confidence lets MPs decide on whether they want the government to continue - and has the power to trigger a general election. The motion's wording is: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government."

When is the confidence vote in the Commons?

Jeremy Corbyn tabled the motion after Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected by MPs on Tuesday evening. It is backed by MPs from the SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and Green Party.

Prime Minister's Questions go ahead as usual at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday. Following a brief debate on banning low level letterboxes, MPs should start debating the motion at about 13:00 GMT.

The confidence vote is expected at about 19:00 GMT.

What happens if Mrs May's government loses?

A 14-day countdown is started if a majority of MPs vote for the motion - and a general election will be called if, during that period, the government or any other alternative government cannot win a new vote of confidence.

These 14 days are calendar days and not the days in which Parliament is sitting - so the deadline would be Wednesday 30 January.

If there is to then be an election, the earliest it could happen would be 25 working days.

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, UK general elections are only supposed to happen every five years. At the moment, the next one is due in 2022.

Mrs May has already said that she will not be leading the Conservatives into the 2022 general election.

What happens if Mrs May's government wins?

This is the outcome that is widely expected.

Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell has told the BBC that they are expected to lose the vote and the DUP - the party that props up Mrs May's government - has said it will vote in favour of the government.

Following the vote, Mrs May will have to go back to focusing on getting some form of Brexit deal through Parliament.

She offered cross-party talks to determine a way forward in the aftermath of her plan's rejection in the Commons.

Mrs May is expected to begin a series of meetings with "senior Parliamentarians" on Thursday.

She also told MPs she will return to the Commons with an alternative plan next week, provided she survives the confidence vote.</s>LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers will on Wednesday vote on whether they have confidence in the government, after Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal suffered a heavy defeat in parliament.

Here is how the process, which could ultimately trigger a general election, will work:

HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK?

The opposition Labour Party, backed by other smaller opposition parties, has put forward a motion which states “That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will open the debate on the motion at around 1300 GMT. May will also speak in the debate and it will last until 1900 GMT.

Lawmakers will then vote on the motion at 1900 GMT, with the result due at around 1915 GMT.

There are 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons. May’s government needs 318 votes to win the vote, as seven members of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party do not sit, four speakers do not vote and four lawmakers who help count votes, known as tellers, are not counted.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE GOVERNMENT WINS?

The government continues in office. However, there are no restrictions on how soon another confidence vote can be called, so Labour could put forward another no confidence motion at any point.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE GOVERNMENT LOSES?

May does not have to resign. A 14-day period is triggered in which any party, including May’s Conservatives, can seek to form a government. To do this they would have to win a confidence vote in the House of Commons.

If a new government cannot be formed within 14 days, an election is triggered.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF MAY LOSING?

May does not have an outright majority in parliament but the DUP, the small Northern Irish party that props up her government, has said it will support the government. So May would only lose if enough of her own Conservative members voted against the government.

WHAT ARE LAWMAKERS SAYING ABOUT THE VOTE?

“The most important issue facing us is that government has lost the confidence of this house and this country ... this house can give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government and pass that motion of no confidence”.”

“We don’t want a general election, this is not about party politics.”

“My party is no mood to hand over the reins to Jeremy Corbyn.”

“We’ll vote with the government. We’ll vote against the Labour party’s confidence motion. We want to see the Conservative government continuing to deliver on Brexit ... We never wanted a change of government, we wanted a change of policy.”

Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, who leads an influential pro-Brexit group of Conservatives:

“I will be supporting the prime minister.”</s>LONDON (AP) — Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a perilous “no-confidence” vote in Parliament Wednesday after her plan to withdraw from the European Union suffered the biggest defeat for a government in the House of Commons in modern history.

The challenge to May’s authority, also known as a censure motion, was put forward by the leader of the opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, whose goal is to trigger a new election that might bring his leftwing party to power.

May needs a majority of lawmakers to back her Wednesday evening to avoid the prospect of a fresh general election that might sweep away her Conservative Party, which is already in a precarious minority position.

If she wins a majority in Parliament, she is judged to have the confidence of the House of Commons and the measure dies. That seems the most likely outcome, given the explicit backing May has received from the Democratic Unionists, a small Northern Ireland party that has propped up her government.

But if she loses, it means legislators have decided that “this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government.”

If that happens, May’s government would have 14 days to try to win back the support of a majority in Parliament to maintain power. At the same time, Corbyn could try to form a majority and take power, although that is unlikely given that the DUP in Northern Ireland has no affinity with Labour.

If no party successfully gains a majority, an early general election would be triggered. An election normally takes five to six weeks, and May would remain in office as a caretaker prime minister during the campaign.

The no-confidence vote on May’s government is completely different from the no-confidence vote she faced in December, when members of her own Conservative Party challenged her role as party leader. She survived that vote unscathed.

The rules governing the no-confidence vote in the government were changed when the Fixed Term Parliaments Act was enacted in 2011 to make it more difficult to bring down a government.</s>As a result of Theresa May’s crushing defeat on her Brexit withdrawal deal, a vote of no confidence is being held tonight. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for the vote after a staggering 432 MPs voted against Mrs May’s deal. This meant just 202 MPs had supported the Prime Minister - and t is feared she could lose out at the no confidence vte tonight as well.

How many MPs will vote AGAINST Theresa May TONIGHT?



According to bookmakers Betway, more than 300 MPs are expected to support today’s motion of no confidence in Theresa May.



Betway has made the number of anti-May MPs at 310 to 319 being the most likely bracket of votes against the leader at 4/9.



This would not be enough to force May’s resignation, however, and the firm makes her heavily odds-on at 1/33 to survive today’s vote and 10/1 for a surprise defeat.

The online bookmaker expects the PM’s next move will be to seek an extension of Article 50 at just 1/5.



For Jeremy Corbyn to endorse a second referendum first is 8/11.



Another potential is for May to step down by the end of the week at 7/2 and 8/1 for no significant developments before 29th March, resulting in the UK leaving the EU with no deal.



Betway spokesman Alan Alger said: “Theresa May doesn’t have much room for maneuverer ahead of today’s vote of no confidence, with it just 4/9 for her to receive 310-319 no confidence votes.



However, there’s little sign of her own party rebelling and we expect May to get through the vote at just 1/33.



“The big question is what her next move will be, with an extension of Article 50 the most obvious play at 1/5, though Jeremy Corbyn could put a spanner in the works and endorse a second referendum first at 8/11.”



Following Mrs May’s defeat on Tuesday, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he "profoundly" regretted the Commons vote and that it was now up to the British Government to say how it intended to proceed.



"An orderly withdrawal will remain our absolute priority in the coming weeks," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

He said there would be a "favourable response" from the EU side if Mrs May was prepared to re-think her red lines and seek a more "ambitious" deal with Brussels.



However, he was adamant the backstop had to remain part of any agreement.



"The backstop which we agreed to with the UK must remain a backstop. It must remain a credible backstop," he said.



Mrs May has today reiterated the Government wants the UK to leave the EU on March 29, telling MPs in the House of Commons: "The EU would only extend Article 50 if actually, it was clear there was a plan that was moving towards an agreed deal."</s>LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government won a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, with 325 votes versus 306.

The vote means that May will now press ahead with talking to lawmakers from all parties to try to find a consensus over how to proceed with Britain’s departure from the European Union, after her proposed deal was rejected by parliament. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)</s>Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU Withdrawal Agreement was defeated by 432 votes to 202, the largest government defeat in modern history. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the House of Commons Mrs May's "catastrophic" defeat represented an "absolutely decisive" verdict on her Brexit negotiations and has tabled a vote of confidence. He added the vote would enable the Commons to "give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government". The motion will be debated in the House of Commons tomorrow.

What is a no confidence vote? Will Theresa May QUIT? A vote of no confidence is a way for an opposition party to try to overthrow the government. It works by MPs voting on a motion asking whether they have “confidence” or “no confidence” in the Government. The motion must be tabled by the Leader of the Opposition, who in this case is Jeremy Corbyn.

If the motion is backed, it starts a countdown of exactly 14 days in which the government must win the support of MPs in a second vote. If they fail to do this then Parliament is dissolved and a general election is triggered. Since the Fixed Term Parliament Acts 2011 was introduced, a motion of no confidence is one of only two ways in which an early general election can now be triggered. Mrs May has vowed to fight on and insisted her deal was “the best way to deliver the will of the British people”.

Will Theresa May win a vote of no confidence? The outcome is not certain but the bookies believe Theresa May can survive. Theresa May has odds of 1-50 to win the no-confidence vote, according to Coral, but she is on odds of 1-2 to be replaced as Prime Minister in 2019. Coral’s John Hill said: “Theresa May is long odds-on to win the no confidence vote tomorrow, however, the betting suggests her survival will be short-lived as punters continue to bet on her to leave her position before the end of the year.”</s>David Greene talks to Bim Afolami, a Conservative member of Parliament, about British Prime Minister Theresa May surviving a no-confidence vote a day after her Brexit plan was resoundingly defeated.</s>Theresa May's government has tonight survived a vote of no confidence.

MPs voted 325 to 306 in favour of allowing the Prime Minister's administration to remain in power, despite the Brexit turmoil.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled the motion last night after MPs voted 432 to 202 against Mrs May's EU Withdrawal Agreement.

During a six-hour debate today in the Commons, Mr Corbyn argued that Mrs May's "zombie" administration had lost the right to govern.

But the outcome of tonight's vote means Mrs May and her cabinet can now continue Brexit negotiations with the EU.

The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29.</s>Britain’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has failed to force a general election after rebel Tories and DUP MPs backed Theresa May’s government in a vote of confidence just a day after rejecting her Brexit deal.

Labour’s motion of no confidence, which was tabled on Tuesday night, was defeated by 325 votes to 306, giving a majority of 19.

Winding up the debate for Labour, its deputy leader, Tom Watson, said Mrs May would forever be known as “the nothing-has-changed prime minister”.

“No one doubts her determination, which is generally of an admirable quality, but, misapplied, it can be toxic,” he said. “And the cruellest truth of all is that she doesn’t possess the necessary political skills, empathy, ability, and most crucially, the policy, to lead this country any longer.”

The environment secretary, Michael Gove, responded with a robust speech, praising Mrs May’s “inspirational leadership” and attacking Mr Corbyn on a wide range of issues, from antisemitism to foreign policy.

One former Labour MP, John Woodcock, who resigned from the party after being investigated for sexual harassment, voted with the government, saying Corbyn was “unfit to lead the country”.

After Mrs May suffered a heavy defeat on Tuesday night - the 230-vote margin against her Brexit deal was the biggest in modern parliamentary history - she announced immediately that she would welcome a confidence vote.

Had the motion passed, MPs would have had 14 days for an alternative government to emerge that could command a majority in the Commons, otherwise a general election would have been triggered.

Instead, Mrs May will now begin talks with what she has called “senior parliamentarians” from across the parties to establish what kind of Brexit deal could win the backing of the Commons.

However, Downing Street has suggested she is unlikely to negotiate directly with Corbyn, and that her Brexit red lines - including a refusal to countenance a customs union - remain in place.

A spokesman said: “The principles that govern us as we go into these talks is that we want to be able to do our own trade deals, and that is incompatible with a customs union.”

Mr Corbyn tabled the no-confidence motion immediately after May’s Brexit defeat, alongside other opposition leaders including the Scottish National party’s Ian Blackford and the Liberal Democrats’ Vince Cable.

In the debate on Wednesday, Mr Corbyn accused May of presiding over a “zombie government”.

He is now likely to come under pressure from party activists to move towards supporting a second referendum. A group of more than 70 Labour MPs announced on Wednesday morning that they were backing the call for a “people’s vote”.

Labour’s formal position, adopted at its conference in Liverpool last year, commits the party to press for a general election. Failing that, all options are on the table, including that of campaigning for a second referendum.– Guardian News and Media</s>LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers will on Wednesday vote on whether they have confidence in the government, after Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal suffered a heavy defeat in parliament.

Here is how the process, which could ultimately trigger a general election, will work:

HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK?

The opposition Labour Party, backed by other smaller opposition parties, has put forward a motion which states “That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will open the debate on the motion at around 1300 GMT. May will also speak in the debate and it will last until 1900 GMT.

Lawmakers will then vote on the motion at 1900 GMT, with the result due at around 1915 GMT.

There are 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons. May’s government needs 318 votes to win the vote, as seven members of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party do not sit, four speakers do not vote and four lawmakers who help count votes, known as tellers, are not counted.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE GOVERNMENT WINS?

The government continues in office. However, there are no restrictions on how soon another confidence vote can be called, so Labour could put forward another no confidence motion at any point.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE GOVERNMENT LOSES?

May does not have to resign. A 14-day period is triggered in which any party, including May’s Conservatives, can seek to form a government. To do this they would have to win a confidence vote in the House of Commons.

If a new government cannot be formed within 14 days, an election is triggered.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF MAY LOSING?

May does not have an outright majority in parliament but the DUP, the small Northern Irish party that props up her government, has said it will support the government. So May would only lose if enough of her own Conservative members voted against the government.

WHAT ARE LAWMAKERS SAYING ABOUT THE VOTE?

“The most important issue facing us is that government has lost the confidence of this house and this country ... this house can give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government and pass that motion of no confidence”.”

“We don’t want a general election, this is not about party politics.”

“My party is no mood to hand over the reins to Jeremy Corbyn.”

“We’ll vote with the government. We’ll vote against the Labour party’s confidence motion. We want to see the Conservative government continuing to deliver on Brexit ... We never wanted a change of government, we wanted a change of policy.”

Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, who leads an influential pro-Brexit group of Conservatives:

“I will be supporting the prime minister.”
Theresa May's government survives a no confidence vote by a majority of 19.