The UK Government has hoodwinked Parliament on giving MPs a so-called “meaningful vote” on Brexit, according to Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards, who says Article 50 must now be extended in response.

The House of Commons defeated the Government in October, passing an amendment to require what was branded as a “meaningful vote” in both the House of Lords and the House of Commons in order to implement the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. The Government was defeated by four votes, with all four Plaid Cymru MPs voting for the amendment, and against the Government.

Mr Edwards says that the amendment was based on the UK Government’s position at the time – that the final deal would be negotiated in tandem with the transition deal, meaning the “meaningful vote” would be held when MPs and Peers would know exactly what they were voting for.

Since that vote, the Government has moved the goalposts, and the final terms of the Brexit deal won’t be known until after the “meaningful vote” has been held, with negotiations continuing throughout the transition period.

Mr Edwards has called for Parliament to respond to the change in the Government’s position by extending Article 50 until the final deal has been agreed, and demanding a truly meaningful vote to ratify the final deal in the UK Parliament and the two national parliaments in Wales and Scotland, before it is implemented.

Commenting, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East & Dinefwr, Jonathan Edwards said: “The UK Parliament voted in October to have a meaningful vote on Brexit – that meant voting on the final deal. The Government was defeated so it must be held to that vote.

“Instead the government has hoodwinked Parliament and moved the goalposts, making sure that the so-called ‘meaningful vote’ will take place before the final terms of the Brexit deal have been finalised, avoiding any sort of checks and balances on its actions. Parliament must now react to the change in the UK Government’s position and demand that Article 50 be extended until the final deal has been reached, before voting to ratify it.

“Proceeding with negotiations whilst outside the EU would give even more power to Brussels over the negotiations meaning an increased likelihood of a no-deal after the transition period. No wonder the kamikaze element of the Tory and Labour parties are happy to go along with the blindside move performed by Theresa May.

“I was astonished to see the Labour front bench suggest they would support the deal, without knowing what it is. After handing the Tories a blank cheque in voting for Article 50 without knowing the outcome, the Labour Party now seems to want to hand them another one, by voting for a final Brexit deal before it has even been completed. It is yet another Tory bear trap into which the Labour party – the so-called official opposition – seems to be perfectly happy to blindly walk us.

“Taking back control surely meant having checks and balances on the decisions being taken by Governments. We cannot allow the UK Government to act with impunity. There must be a truly meaningful vote held in the UK Parliament on the final terms of the Brexit deal, and there should be a second layer of checks and balance by giving the national Parliaments of Wales and Scotland too.”