What the commentators said

Spare me all the “cant” about Henry VIII clauses, said Iain Dale on Conservativehome.com. Labour MPS are suddenly aghast at the thought of being bypassed, yet the whole purpose of this Bill is “to repeal a single giant Henry VIII clause”, the European Communities Act of 1972, which implemented our membership of the Common Market, and which, for the past 44 years, has allowed EU law to become binding on UK citizens without Parliament having any right to amend or reject it. But MPS are quite right to be worried about the scope of the executive powers in the new Bill, said Nick Dearden in The Independent. Such powers would enable ministers not just to make minor technical changes, but also, potentially, to dilute workers’ rights or environmental standards. The Government has promised not to scrap any such laws, but you “don’t have to scrap them in order to render them useless”.

Ministers will almost certainly have to give some ground to get this Bill through committee stage, said James Forsyth in The Spectator – indeed, they’ve already indicated that they’re open to amendments curtailing the Henry VIII powers. But a leaked letter from some Tory MPS last week, warning against a transition deal that kept the UK in the EU “by stealth”, is a reminder that if May gives too much ground to supporters of a soft Brexit, “she’ll have trouble on her right flank”. Labour is also vulnerable. For months, it has been able to maintain a studied ambiguity on Brexit. But it will now be attacked for voting against leaving the EU.

Britain’s politicians face a gruelling 18 months of late-night Brexit votes, said George Parker and Robert Wright in the FT. Tories have taken some heart from the fact that “Labour’s own divisions on the issue are starting to show”, but they have few other reasons for cheer. Labour has opted for “attritional tactics”, suspending the informal “pairing” system that allows politicians from rival parties to sit out votes, thereby cancelling each other out and giving both an evening off.