Britain on the threshold of Brexit as MPs vote down Lords’ amendments
BRITAIN stands on the threshold of the “most important negotiation for a generation” after Parliament gave Theresa May the power to trigger Brexit, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, has said
Last night the Government’s Brexit Bill cleared though both Houses of Parliament, paving the way for the Prime Minister to trigger Article 50.
Peers in the House of Lords backed down and accepted the supremacy of elected MPs after the Commons rejected amendments on the issue of giving MPs a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal and guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens.
Speaking after the result, Mr Davis said: “Parliament has today backed the Government in its determination to get on with the job of leaving the EU and negotiating a positive new partnership with its remaining member states.
“We have a plan to build a Global Britain, and take advantage of its new place in the world by forging new trading links.
“So we will trigger Article 50 by the end of this month, as planned, and de- liver an outcome that works in the interests of the whole of the UK.”
Earlier Mrs May had quashed a rebellion by pro-European Conservatives as MPs voted overwhelmingly to reject the House of Lords amendments.
Up to a dozen Conservative MPs had threatened to rebel and back the “meaningful vote” amendment. However, Mrs May enjoyed a significant boost after not a single Conservative MP voted against the Government on the issue and just 11 abstained.
The Government defeated the meaningful vote amendment by 331 to 286 and the migrant rights amendments by 335 to 287.
It came after Mr Davis warned MPs that committing to a meaningful vote would hinder the Government’s ability to “walk away” from a deal that seeks to “punish” the UK.
He said that the Government would not block a parliamentary vote on Brexit if the UK left without a deal. However, his comments were not enough to persuade Tory rebels.
Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General, said that trying to stop Parliament from having a vote on leaving the EU without a deal would be “deranged”.
He said it was “inevitable” that the Government would have to present its Brexit deal to Parliament, adding that he found the refusal to commit to a vote “a bit odd”.
On the subject of the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and Britons living in Europe, Mr Davis said Britain has a “moral responsibility” to protect them both. He warned that the House of Lords amendment to force the UK to “unilaterally” guarantee the rights of EU migrants living here would undermine Britain’s negotiating hand and jeopardise the rights of British citizens living in the EU.
However, Mr Davis said that he was determined there would be a “swift” agreement on migrant rights once Article 50 is triggered and Britain begins the formal process of exiting the EU.
Around 3.2 million EU citizens live in the UK, while more than a million British expats reside in other EU member states.
Mr Davis said: “That is why we must pass this straightforward Bill without further delay so the Prime Minister can get to work on the negotiations and we can secure a quick deal that secures the status of both European Union citizens in the UK and also UK nationals living in the EU, of which there are around one million.
“We take very seriously, I take very seriously our moral responsibility to all four million United Kingdom and European Union citizens.”
Two Tory MPs openly rebelled against the Government while around a dozen abstained on the amendment.