A column written by Cotswold MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Last week’s events in Parliament were tumultuous.

On Tuesday MPs applied for an emergency debate which was granted by the Speaker, forcing a vote on whether they should seize control of the Commons timetable from the Government.

I voted with the Government, as I have always been committed to delivering the result of the Referendum.

However, the Government was defeated by 328 to 301, with 21 Conservative MPs supporting the plan to block a no-deal Brexit.

This group of Conservative MPs immediately had the Party whip removed.

It goes without saying that to see respected and long-serving colleagues of mine vote against the Government and effectively be expelled from the Party was deeply unfortunate.

This latest vote does not rule out no-deal, it simply pushes back the date for leaving even further, delaying simply to see more dithering.

The only real way to stop a no-deal, is for Parliamentarians to agree on a deal.

That is why I voted for a Withdrawal Agreement three times as I have always maintained that an orderly exit with a deal agreed by Parliament was preferable to a no-deal or no-Brexit scenario.

It provided certainty of leaving for the British people and particularly for businesses.

To add confusion to the situation, we now have opposition MPs coming forward saying they would support May’s deal if it came back to the House.

It is certainly a shame this support did not appear when those of us who wanted a deal had the opportunity to agree upon one.

After three years of negotiations and three attempts to pass May’s Withdrawal Agreement, we face a situation where compromise by Parliament seems unlikely.

MPs have to this point been unable to agree on the type of arrangement they want with the European Union, with purists on both side of the debate simply unwilling to compromise on their absolute versions on what should happen.

I have received numerous correspondence from constituents asking what will happen next to break this impasse.

Many explaining to me that they don’t feel strongly for either side of the debate, but simply want their MPs to get back to normal business.

With purists on both sides hampering any compromise, the most likely next step would be that we would go back to the people with a general election.

It would then be a clear choice for people to decide who they want to lead negotiations with the EU on October 17, Jeremy Corbyn or Boris Johnson.

I am preparing for this week in Parliament to be as unpredictable as the last.

On Monday afternoon we will be facing more votes on a bill to delay Brexit by another three months, this will be done by extending the negotiating period of Article 50.

There is also going to be a vote on triggering an early election, which due to the Fixed-term Parliament Act requires the backing of two-thirds of MPs, i.e. 434. After numerous demands for a general election, Jeremy Corbyn has changed his mind and is likely to vote against or abstain from voting for a snap election.

In more positive news from Westminster, the Chancellor announced his spending review which included a much-needed boost to school funding.

I have long campaigned hard for fairer funding and so I welcomed the announcement last week that spending on schools will rise by £2.6 billion next year, rising to £7.1 billion by 2022-23, enabling per pupil funding to increase.

Nationally secondary schools minimum funding would rise from £4,800 to £5,000 and primary schools would see funding go from £3,500 to £4,000.

As well as an investment of £400 million in further education, ensuring young people have the skills they need for the future.

With colleges such as Cirencester College benefitting from this extra funding.