In a major show of strength today, an anti-no deal coalition of MPs inflicted a heavier than expected defeat on the government. The government lost by 41 votes (315 to 273) in its attempt to take an anti-prorogation amendment out of the Northern Ireland bill. The significance of the loss was largely symbolic, with the vote essentially a proxy on whether the Commons will accept a no deal Brexit. The scale of the defeat is a timely reminder of how difficult the next Prime Minister would find it to push through no deal against parliament’s will.