Brexit latest: Conservative Party in turmoil with loyalists infuriated by Brexiteers abstaining from lost vote

Angry Tory loyalist have turned on the party's Brexiteers after Theresa May suffered another humiliating Commons defeat.

On Thursday, the pro-Brexit European Research Group’s "collective decision" to abstain from Thursday's lost vote sparked turmoil for the Tory party.

With some Remainers failing to vote and five Conservative MPs voting with the opposition, the Government was left with a defeat of 303 to 258 votes.

Though some ministers insisted the result was largely symbolic it underlined the depth of the divisions inside the party.

The ERG had not liked the wording of the motion as they believed it took the prospect of a no-deal Brexit off the table.

Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood described the ERG's actions as "provocative" and accused them of operating as a "party within a party".

Tory backbencher Jonathan Djanogly said the ERG was seeking to "pull the UK off the cliff".

He also added he had seen nothing to show the Government had the determination to stop it.

Pro-Remain MP Anna Soubry said Mrs May needed to stand up to the group she described as the "purple Momentum" – a reference to left wing grassroots group which helped propel Jeremy Corbyn to the Labour leadership.

She told BBC2's Newsnight: "If she carries on like this, then we all know what is going to happen.

"Our party will become yet again unelectable and we will fall into the wilderness.”

Business Minister Richard Harrington previously accused the ERG, led by Jacob Rees-Mogg, of "treachery" and called on them to join former Ukip leader Nigel Farage's new party.

But ERG deputy chairman Steve Baker dismissed the row as a "storm in a teacup", suggesting the group's critics should "grow up".

He said the ERG had not been prepared to be "co-opted" into ruling out a no-deal Brexit by voting for the Government motion.

The wording of the motion, which endorsed the approach set out in a series of Commons votes at the end of January, had angered the ERG members.

In January, MPs voted for a Government-backed amendment calling on ministers to reopen negotiations with Brussels on the Northern Ireland backstop, which the ERG supported.

The Commons also voted for a non-binding cross-party amendment rejecting a no-deal break with the EU.

Mr Baker further insisted Thursday's vote would not affect the Prime Minister's negotiating mandate with Brussels.

"It's time for some people to grow up and think about what is in the national interest," he said.

The defeat had been largely unexpected with most attention focused on the next set of votes due on February 27.

That vote is expected to see a concerted cross-party push to prevent a no-deal break.

Despite her loss on Thursday, Downing Street insists the Prime Minister will continue with her negotiating strategy with ministers dismissing Thursday's vote as merely a "hiccup".

In the wake of the loss, Downing Street chose to turn its fire on Mr Corbyn by accusing the Labour leader of risking a no-deal Brexit by putting party before country.

The Labour leader responded by saying that it was time for Mrs May to accept her strategy had failed.

He then urged her to come forward with a new plan which could command broad support among MPs.

Labour leader Mr Corbyn is also struggling to keep his party together though, with impatience among some MPs at his unwillingness to back a second referendum and rumours of a breakaway party.

Chris Leslie, one of the Labour MPs linked with a possible split, said they were being "played for fools" by the leadership.

While another critic of Mr Corbyn, Chuka Umunna, said it was the Labour leader's job to keep his party together not his backbenchers.

"When I joined the Labour Party, I intended to be a member on my death-bed. Ultimately whether we keep the party together is a matter for the leadership," he told Sky News.

But shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon told BBC’s Newsnight he was not expecting a split and said: "I certainly hope that no Labour MP elected as a Labour MP leaves the Labour Party.”

Following the vote, Mr Corbyn said the Government needed a new strategy on Brexit.

He called for one which could bring MPs together and avoid the the "catastrophe" of no-deal.

"The Government cannot keep on ignoring Parliament and ploughing on towards March 29 without a coherent plan," he said.

"She cannot keep on just running down the clock and hoping that something will turn up that will save her day and save her face."