BBC One
22nd July 1993
10:00am
Announcer: We bring you a BBC News special report, live from outside the Houses of Westminster, with Peter Sissons.
Sissons: This vote has been discussed for weeks, it was passed through on Wednesday, but finally, the time has come for Parliament to vote on whether, in light of the recent signing of the Maastricht Treaty, it still wants John Major to be its Prime Minister. The debate inside has been going on for approximately half an hour, Major appeared defiant, even in the midst of a possible defeat, reiterating his point throughout the last few months that it was time for Tory Eurosceptics to either "put up or shut up", as well as saying that it was time for Parliament to again decide whether this stalemate over Europe wages on, or is stopped, dead in its tracks. Only time will tell, as these next few minutes will be pivotal in deciding the political future of both the Conservative Party, and John Major. We now go to Peter Snow from the upper chamber of the House of Commons.
Snow: Thank you, Peter. Like you said just a minute ago, it is time for Parliament to vote on whether it wants John Major as Prime Minister, or whether another General Election should be called, not even a year after the Conservative Party won one of its largest ever majorities at the expense of the current MP for Islwyn, and former Labour leader, Neil Kinnock. These last few months have been hectic, with the Maastricht Rebels causing significant unrest within the Conservative party. MPs such as Iain Duncan Smith and Bill Cash have gained notoriety due to their Eurosceptic stance on the Treaty, and they managed to create enough disruption for John Major to directly challenge them. Of course, a vote of no confidence is not that simple, as if the Maastricht Rebels are successful, John Major will be forced to resign as Prime Minster, and as leader of the Conservative Party. All of this means that a lot is at stake as we begin this vote. We will return to the House of Commons as soon as the vote has been counted and verified.
(We witness the Speaker, Betty Boothroyd, ask the MPs the required question, which is: "That, in the opinion of this house, Her Majesty's Government should not deposit the Articles of Ratification of the Treaty of the European Union with the government of the Italian Republic until some time as it has given notification to the European Community that it intends to adopt the agreement attached to protocol on social policy." As seen in the method of division, MPs go to the left of the chamber of the House of Commons if they agree, or to the right if they disagree with the statement. After roughly five minutes of rigorous counting, the results are in.)
10:43am
Sissons: I am receiving news that the count from the confidence motion is through. We will now go back to Peter Snow.
Snow: The Speaker, Betty Boothroyd, is about to read the results of this confidence motion. From what I could see during the vote itself, it was too close to call simply from sight, initial reports from the House of Commons stated a small Conservative majority. How this vote is called could potentially forever alter the future of British politics.
(Boothroyd steps up)
Speaker: The vote has been counted and verified several times, and I can now inform you that in accordance with the European Committees Amendment Bill, the responses to the motion are as follows: Number of votes counted: 638 out of a possible 650 MPs. In favour of the motion, 318. Against the motion: 320. (Large cheers in the right of the chamber) The Government has been defeated on this motion, meaning that in the opinion of this House, it has a vote of no confidence.
Snow: There we have it, ladies and gentleman, the confirmation that Parliament has delivered a vote of no confidence to the motion regarding amendments to the social policy of the Maastricht Treaty, which will surely result in another General Election very soon, as well as the resignation of John Major as both Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party.