The Conservative Party has withdrawn the whip from two Members of European Parliament (MEP) for voting with their EU counterparts against progressing, with Cabinet minister David Davis demanding Jeremy Corbyn suspends his own 18 rogue Labour MEPs.
In total, 26 British MEPs voted with eurocrats and backed a resolution supporting the European Commission’s position that Britain has yet to make “sufficient progress” on the so-called divorce bill and the role of the EU court after Brexit.
“[South West England MEP] Julie Girling and … [South East England MEP] Richard Ashworth were suspended from the Conservative Party last night after supporting a resolution … to block Brexit talks moving forward,” the party confirmed on Sunday.
The move was supported by Prime Minister Theresa May who is struggling to assert authority in her party and convince Brexiteers that she is capable of negotiating with her European Union (EU) counterparts.
In his letter to Girling and Ashworth, European parliament chief whip Dan Dalton wrote: “The Brexit negotiations are the most important negotiations our country faces and reaching a new partnership with the European Union is in the interests of both the UK and the EU.
“The resolution by the European parliament sought to delay progress in the negotiations between the UK and the EU by holding back talks on the future relationship. It also proposed that one part of the UK, Northern Ireland, could remain in the single market and customs union, while the rest of the UK departs – which is not acceptable.
“Given the seriousness of this issue, and your failure to discuss your intention to vote against the agreed position of the Conservative delegation in advance, I am therefore writing to inform you that I am suspending the Conservative whip from you until further notice.”
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis then demanded Corbyn remove the whip from his 18 MEPs who also voted against progressing trade talks, writing: “While I would not expect opposition political parties to agree with us all the time about the end state we seek, it is a self-evident part of the national interest to support a discussion about our future relationship with Europe.
“So I was disappointed that 18 Labour MEPs voted against moving the negotiations onto the next stage. Will you follow suit and take action against the MEPs from your party who voted against the best future for the UK and the EU, or is this the official position of the Labour Party?”
Withdrawing the whip does not expel the MPs from parliament, but does mean they can no longer represent the party officially and must sit as an independent until the whip is reinstated.