Lib Dem deputy leader accidentally votes for Corbyn’s Brexit plan
PUBLISHED: 08:29 28 February 2019 | UPDATED: 08:35 28 February 2019
Jeremy Corbyn addresses crowds stood in front of a 'road to Brexit' backdrop. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire.
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The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats said she made a “genuine mistake” by accidentally voting for Jeremy Corbyn’s Brexit plan.
Jo Swinson was recorded as having supported a Labour amendment to the government’s Brexit motion, according to the division list.
Her apparent defiance of her party’s policy raised eyebrows in Westminster - but a party source said it was a “genuine mistake”.
She was the only Lib Dem MP to support the policy.
Labour’s amendment called for a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU; dynamic alignment on rights and protections; commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes; “unambiguous” agreements on the detail of future security arrangements; and close alignment with the single market.
Corbyn’s proposals were defeated by a margin of 240 votes to 323.
Swinson was joined by Ken Clarke, 235 Labour MPs, and three Independent MPs - Ivan Lewis, Jared O’Mara, John Woodcock.
