Lords begin talks on Brexit

PEERS OPPOSE RIGHTS OF EU NATIONALS Tricky time for Prime Minister May as Conservatives not in majority in House

Britain’s House of Lords yesterday began debating a Bill empowering Prime Minister Theresa May to kick-start Brexit, a potentially tricky test given her Conservatives do not hold a majority there.

Discussions in the unelected upper house of parliament started after the lower house of Commons approved the draft legislation earlier this month.

The Bill gives May the right to trigger Article 50 of the European Union’s (EU) Lisbon Treaty, the formal procedure to start negotiations on leaving the bloc.

The government presented the short Bill after losing a high-profile court battle in which judges ruled May must consult parliament before beginning divorce proceedings with Brussels.

The legislation sailed through the Commons this month by 494 votes to 122, but the government could face greater challenges in the Lords, where only 252 of the 800 members are Conservatives.

Peers are proposing changes that include measures to guarantee the rights of EU nationals in Britain and defining how parliament votes on a final Brexit deal.

Peter Mandelson, a peer with the opposition Labour party and former European commissioner, said there was a “strong body of opinion” on the seriousness of the two issues. But he doubted the unelected chamber would seek to derail the Brexit Bill entirely.

“The House of Commons must prevail because it is the elected chamber,” Mandelson told BBC television on Sunday.

“But I hope the House of Lords will not throw in the towel early.”

Ahead of the debate, Justice Minister Liz Truss said the upper house should support the outcome of the June referendum, in which 52% of voters opted to leave the EU, sending shockwaves around Europe.

“The British people voted for that, they were clear in the referendum and the House of Lords now needs to get on with it.”

Truss’s view was echoed by Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who warned that voters would not look kindly on unelected peers seeking to block the Brexit Bill.

“Peers would be wise to consider this clear democratic mandate, and their own futures, when debating the Article 50 Bill this week,” he said.

There will be two further days of discussions next week and the final reading is scheduled for March 7. If they vote to amend the Bill it will pass back to the Commons for further debate. – AFP