Today in 2018, Theresa May suffered an extraordinary three parliamentary defeats in a single day, as rebellious MPs at Westminster sought to wrest back control of Brexit.  The start of a five-day debate on May’s deal was delayed by several hours, as MPs passed a historic motion finding the government in contempt of parliament for failing to publish in full the legal advice on Brexit.  MPs had already voted down a government compromise, which would have referred the dispute to parliament’s privileges committee.  With the prime minister still waiting to open the formal debate, MPs then inflicted a third defeat, passing a cross-party amendment tabled by MPs  aimed at strengthening the hand of parliament if the deal were voted down.  Backers of a softer Brexit  – or a second referendum on May’s deal – cheered the move, which they hoped would allow them to demonstrate parliament’s support for alternatives to May’s approach.

So that all worked out well, then ...