May 8 is date to reach EU bill deal

UK ministers have until May 8 to agree a deal with their Scottish counterparts on the EU Withdrawal Bill or face a constitutional crisis.

This is the sixth and final day of the bill’s Report Stage in the House of Lords when peers will vote on any proposed changes. The bill will then go to Holyrood for the consent or otherwise of MSPS.

While the UK Government has maintained its confidence Nicola Sturgeon and her colleagues will support the bill, there is little tangible evidence yet this is the case.

The First Minister and Welsh counterpart Carwyn Jones believe the UK bill is a “power-grab” by Whitehall as Theresa May wants a temporary hold on some 24 powers and responsibilities going to Holyrood from Brussels post Brexit.

This, the Prime Minister says, is to ensure there are countrywide common frameworks covering issues such as agriculture, fisheries and environmental protection so the UK’S internal market is not harmed.

Whitehall insiders have made clear that in the absence of consent from MSPS and AMS, the UK Government will press ahead with the bill.

To add to the constitutional tensions, UK Government lawyers, in a parallel process, are preparing to mount a legal challenge to the devolved parliaments’ own Brexit legislation, the Continuity Bills.

The deadline for this is earlier: April 18; two days after Westminster returns from its Easter recess.