Boris ‘to compromise on Brexit bill to stop revolt’
BORIS Johnson was last night edging towards a compromise over his treaty-busting Brexit legislation in a bid to head off a damaging Tory revolt.
UK government sources said Britain’s prime minister was anxious to secure the maximum possible support in the Commons for the controversial Internal Market Bill ahead of what looks certain to be a mauling in the House of Lords next month.
The legislation passed its first hurdle in the Commons on Monday night with a comfortable majority of 77, despite 30 Conservative MPs withholding support. But the government faces a major revolt next week when rebels will attempt to place a ‘Parliamentary lock’ on proposals that would over-ride parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement relating to Northern Ireland.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told rebel leader Bob Neill he was ‘on to something’ with his idea for requiring a further parliamentary vote before the controversial measures come into force.
In another conciliatory sign, Tory whips yesterday quietly dropped threats to discipline rebels who failed to back the government. And it emerged that Mr Johnson had held ‘amicable’ talks with Mr Neil about his proposal.
Rebel sources acknowledged they had not had a concrete offer of a compromise from No10, but said there were ‘promising signs’ that the PM was listening.
With the DUP offering to support the government, ministers are quietly confident they can defeat next week’s revolt. But ministers are anxious about provoking a rebellion from a string of senior figures including former Chancellor Sajid Javid, ex-attorneys general Geoffrey Cox and Jeremy Wright, former Northern Ireland Secretaries Julian Smith and Karen Bradley, and – poten tially – Theresa May. There is concern a major revolt in the Commons could embolden the Lords, where peers are already threatening to dismember the legislation.
No10 yesterday warned the Lords that blocking the legislation would breach a convention that requires peers not to stand in the way of a government’s manifesto pledges. But ministers are braced for a string of amendments, which they would have to try to overturn in the Commons.
A UK government source said: ‘All the focus has been on next week’s vote. But the reality is that, with the Lords where they are, we are probably going to have to vote on this several times. The more united the Commons is, the more difficult it will be for the Lords to keep on sending it back.’
The legislation will over-ride parts of Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland.
Mr Johnson told MPs the provisions were needed as a ‘safety net’ to prevent the EU applying ‘extreme and unreasonable’ interpretations on the deal that could drive a wedge between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
But the plans have caused uproar after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis admitted last week they would ‘break international law’. The EU has threatened to launch legal action unless the measures are dropped by the end of this month.
And Britain’s Labour Party has accused the PM of trashing the UK’s reputation. But in an email to Tory supporters last night, Mr Johnson rounded on Labour’s stance and accused the opposition of siding with Brussels.
He added: ‘Appallingly, when presented with another opportunity to stand up for the UK, Labour chose not to. Instead they buckled to the EU.’
Comfortable majority
‘Signs are promising’