Raab answering Grieve urgent question on meaningful vote parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/66…
Raab: "Any amendments to the motion will not be able to affect amendments to the withdrawal agreement.... nor could they delay our departure from the EU"
That makes no sense. If MPs were to pass an amendment demanding the government petition for an extension of A50, surely that would overrule the first decision of parliament to trigger it.
Grieve focuses on Raab memo. Says govt is trying to sneakily avoid motions on meaningful vote. "No-one demurred... that motion on the substance of the bill would be amendable". How can Raab reconcile that with his memo?
"A lot depends in this House on trust. The difficulty with the memorandum, it tends to undermine trust the govt intends to honour the commitments it made to the House."
Raab says "existing House procedures will be amendable". Quite clear he knows he can't fight that, so trying to discourage amendments in any other way possible. Says he needs "clear approval" of motion to ratify withdrawal agreement.
Keir Starmer up. Condemns violent language used against PM by anonymous Tory backbenchers. Says this is latest attempt to try to stifle voice of parliament.
Of course decision must be clear "but up to parliament to decide how that view might be expressed".
Multiple amendments may be tabled, their selection and order in hands of Speaker. Starmer says any business motion which doesn't satisfy this will be rejected by Labour.
Raab again says he's concerned about "procedural impact that amendments could have on withdrawal agreement". This argument is so weak and predictable.
We've presumed for a while they'd do this. I wrote this back in June. It'd be nice if just once they surprised us. politics.co.uk/blogs/2018/06/… 
Raab vs Grieve behind him and Starmer in front. Some vigorous scalpels right there. Hard not to feel a twinge of pity.
Yvette Coopper cleaving Raab in pieces. "His procedural diving and ducking to avoid the real substance of the debate and avoid a meaningful vote."
Luciana Berger: "His govt is now attempting to gag our democracy."
Phillip Lee: "Govt's latest attempt to stop parliament from having a meaningful vote is just more evidence that the foisting of a fudge is imminent."
Angela Eagle: "The minister has gone through the looking glass. He seems to think that meaningful actually means meaningless."
Raab is so catastrophically out of his depth.
Chris Leslie: "Why doesn't the minister just confess he's been caught red-handed trying to stitch up parliament again."
Liz Kendall wants Raab to confirm it's up to Speaker to decide order and timing of amendments and if not to provide legal evidence showing so. Raab says "not for minister to determine the remit of scope of Speaker".
Such a waste of time. Raab is failing badly here, losing trust and accomplishing nothing.
Alison McGovern asks Raab for any example - any single one - where MPs have voted on amendments after the motion.
Raab: "Well I'm not sure."
Raab: "Well I'm not sure."
The state of May and Raab on the front bench. Shifty, shattered, absent. Like a government decomposing in front of your eyes.
May's up now. Fun never stops today.
May says EU is actively working on all-UK customs solution. But can't be in withdrawal agreement.
She says four steps: 1) Commitment to temporary UK-EU joint customs must be legally binding. This is the bit where she builds legal bridges from withdrawal deal to future relationship, I presume.
2) Option to extend transition as alternative to backstop.
This is interesting. What were previously rumours now being stated explicitly in Commons.
3) Were we to need either insurance policy, neither arrangement can be done indefinitely.
4) Ensuring No.Irish business full access to single market.
OK nothing new here, but first time this has all been put formally on the record. The provisions sound pretty much exactly like what was suggested here politics.co.uk/blogs/2018/10/…
May now just shooting out her weird new lines - it's about national interest, not her interest. SOme attack on People's Vote as a Politicians Vote. Odd.
That must be a rather sobering moment for Tory ERG rebels. May clearly going to press ahead with her plan.
Corbyn response predictably useless.
He says he wants the PM to lay out her plan. To be fair, she just did that. This would be a good moment for the leader of the opposition to pick holes in it.
These Corbyn lines are basically he same he's used for two years. Like old underwear.
Remainers suggesting Corbyn does this because he supports Brexit: It's worse than that. He seems barely aware of it. Like a guy who half-remembers an article they read on Brexit the other month.
May's response all abut trying to "frustrate Brexit". You could have taken that from any point in the last two years.
Fuck the politics. There hasn't been a worse period for rhetoric in my lifetime.
And when I say fuck the politics I really mean it.
Does feel like something has changed on People's Vote. May fielding questions on it from across the House.
It's all usual suspects but the level of questioning has increased and there's a sense of confidence in how MPs ask about it, like they're not tensed for the returned attack anymore.
Cable asks if any ministerial preparation being done. Answer is obvs no, although nearly calls it People's Vote and then quickly switches to 'second referendum'.
Then Justine Greening telling May that if there's gridlock in the Commons the only options are ref2 or general election and former is superior.
Cooper wants to know how much of future relationship doc agreed. "A substantial part," May says.
Now Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen on People's Vote. PM facing intense questioning on second referendum from Tory moderates.
Now Anna Soubrey "Govt policy is for a never-ending transition period"
Labour MP after Labour MP demanding People's Vote too. Luciana Berger and Owen Smith referring to 700,000 attendance.
Suspect the attendance was sobering for opponents. May dismisses all calls of course, but there is considerably less sneering than there used to be.
JRM finally gets it. Says "implementation period" used to refer to implementing something that had already been agreed. But now it appears to be about getting time for more negotiations.
Hi Jacob! Welcome aboard. You've finally figured it out.
Brexiters talk just like Remainers with a two-year delay.
Edward Leigh wants an assurance that deal or no-deal, Brexit happens. May: "I can absolutely guarantee to my rt hon friend that we'll be leaving the EU on March 29th."
Total consensus condemning the language used against May in the Commons. The vitriol of the attacks have actually served to win her some breathing space.
OK I can't listen to this anymore, too boring, my life-force mostly gone now. Wrapping up for today,
