Theresa May Wins Confidence Vote in Parliament by Narrow Margin

British Prime Minister Theresa May. 

(Photo: AP)

Theresa May won her first confidence vote on Thursday 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 8 June 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 have triggered another general election and therefore the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP ) 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.

Also Read: How Is Theresa May’s Ally DUP Linked To Purulia Arms Drop Case?

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.

(This article has been edited for length)

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