Powys Liberal Democrat county councillors have reacted to last night's crushing defeat of the Government's Brexit bill by warning Powys County Council to 'make contingency plans'.

Prime Minister Theresa May's proposed deal to leave the European Union was defeated by 432 votes to 202 in the house of commons last night.

In a joint statement, Cllr Roger Williams, Chair of the Brecon and Radnorshire Liberal Democrats, and Cllr James Gibson-Watt, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrat-Green Group said it was an "unprecedented moment" and urged the County Council to begin making contingency plans for what they describe as a "worst case scenario".

"This is an unprecedented moment in British political history. The scale of the Conservative Government’s defeat means that the next step, as Parliament grapples with the Brexit crisis, will be a vote of no-confidence," he said.

"A disordered, no-deal Brexit would be socially and economically catastrophic. As former Leave campaign leader Michael Gove has acknowledged, a no-deal exit would mean that beef and sheep farmers would face 'significant tariffs when none exist now'. Yesterday, he warned that 'winter is coming'.

"Taking no-deal off the table will mean that it doesn’t. Meanwhile, Powys County Council must make contingency plans for the worst case scenario, working across party boundaries and cooperating fully with the Welsh Government when required."

The statement re-affirmed the Liberal Democrats commitment to a so-called 'peoples vote', essentially a rerun of the 2016 referendum, with a view to remaining in Europe.

"There are no good options with Brexit. However, we are clear in our view that the best course of action now would be an extension of Article 50 to allow for a People’s Vote with the option of staying in the European Union," it added.