The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Take it or leave it Brexit vote deal creates backlash
Potential rebels label move ‘pointless’
MPs will be given a take it or leave it vote on any Brexit deal covering citizens’ rights, the so-called divorce bill and a transition period, David Davis has announced.
The Brexit Secretary said any withdrawal agreement the government reaches with the EU will only hold if MPs and peers approve a new piece of legislation to put it into British law.
But he also confirmed that if the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill is voted down by MPs, the UK will still leave the EU on March 29, 2019, without a deal.
The move was seen as an attempted concession to Tory rebels ahead of votes this week on the separate EU (Withdrawal) Bill, also known as the repeal bill, with the government facing potential defeat on plans to guarantee MPs a “meaning- ful vote” on the deal. But it triggered an immediate backlash from potential Tory rebels.
Heidi Allen Davis’s attempt said Mr at a con- cession was “pointless” as the government is trying to amend the Withdrawal Bill to say Britain’s membership of the EU will formally end at 11pm GMT on March 29, 2019.
Reacting to the Brexit Secretary’s announcement, Ms Allen tweeted: “Pointless if we have enshrined a drop dead date in the Bill, & get a deal at 11th-hour! There’d be no time!
“And also offers no safeguard if no deal is reached. Unacceptable.”
Antoinette Sandbach said: “The announcement is meaningless if, for any reason, the timetable slips beyond March 2019.”
In a House of Commons statement, Mr Davis announced: “It’s clear we need to take further steps to provide clarity and certainty both in the negotiations and at home, regarding the implementation of any agreement into United Kingdom law.
“I can now confirm that once we have reached an agreement we will bring forward a specific piece of primary legislation to implement the agreement.
“This confirms that the major policy set out in the withdrawal agreement will be directly implemented into UK law by primary legislation, not by secondary legislation with the Withdrawal Bill.”
“Offers no safeguard if no deal is reached. Unacceptable”