British PM Theresa May wins confidence vote in UK parliament
The MPs voted in favour of the Queen's Speech by 323 votes to 309 with a majority of 14.
London, June 30: Theresa May on Thursday won her first confidence vote by a narrow margin in the House of Commons on her parliamentary agenda set out in the Queen's Speech, her first major test as the prime minister of a minority government in the UK.
The MPs voted in favour of the Queen's Speech by 323 votes to 309 with a majority of 14.
May was expected to sail through with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) voting with the Conservatives as part of a "confidence and supply" arrangement after the Tories lost their overall majority in the June 8 snap general election.
Votes on the Queen's Speech establish whether a government commands the confidence of the House of Commons.
If the Conservatives were to lose, it could trigger another general election and therefore the Democratic Unionist Party support was crucial to ensure the vote goes through.
Under the deal with the DUP, May has a working majority of 13, which also helped her win her first vote in the Commons on Wednesday 323 votes to 309 on Opposition Labour?s proposal to scrap a cap imposed on public sector pay.
In what is being hailed as a new kind of politics in Westminster circles, backbench MPs won their fight to allow women from Northern Ireland to access abortions on the UK?s state-funded National Health Service (NHS).
More than 50 MPs from the major political parties had backed a call for Northern Irish women to have the same rights as women in England because in Northern Ireland abortions are only allowed if a woman's life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her physical or mental health.
An amendment on the issue which had cross-party backing, had been selected for inclusion in the Queen's Speech debate.
During the debate in the Commons on Thursday, UK Chancellor Philip Hammond was asked by the Conservative Sir Peter Bottomley, why, in the case of women from Northern Ireland, "only the poor should be denied lawful abortions".
Sir
Peter
was
among
MPs
from
various
parties
to
sign
the
amendment,
co-ordinated
by
Labour's
Stella
Creasy.
Hammond
told
him
that
Justine
Greening,
the
UK?s
minister
for
women
and
equalities,
"either
has
made
or
is
just
about
to
make
an
announcement
by
way
of
a
letter
to
members
of
this
house
explaining
that
she
intends
to
intervene
to
fund
abortions
in
England
for
women
arriving
here
from
Northern
Ireland".
Following the concession from the UK government, the other amendments to be debated and voted on included a call for several of Labour's manifesto pledges to be adopted, plus one to ensure that Brexit delivers the "exact same benefits" of the current European Union (EU) single market and customs union membership.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hoped to highlight apparent divisions within the Conservative ranks over whether to put jobs and the economy first in Brexit talks.
The
party
tabled
the
amendment
criticising
what
it
says
is
the
absence
of
measures
to
"reverse
falling
living
standards"
such
as
action
on
energy
bills
and
wages.
Corbyn
claims
that
May
has
no
mandate
for
continued
austerity
measures
after
she
failed
to
win
an
outright
majority
at
the
last
election.
"The Conservative programme is in tatters following the public verdict at the general election. Theresa May does not have a mandate for continued cuts to our schools, hospitals, police and other vital public services or for a race-to-the- bottom Brexit. Labour will fight these policies every step of the way," he said.
Another amendment was tabled by Labour MP Chuka Umunna, which calls for the UK to remain in the single market and customs union after Brexit ? which is not in line with the Labour's official stand.
May faced a hectic schedule on Thursday as she rushed back from a summit in Germany in time for the parliamentary proceedings in the UK.
In Berlin, May joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders to discuss plans for the G20 summit in Hamburg next week and how to put pressure on US President Donald Trump over his refusal to sign up to the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as the stalled trade deal between America and the European Union (EU).
PTI