{"id":140078,"date":"2018-06-12T12:36:01","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T12:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/david-davis-lords-amendments-would-undermine-brexit\/"},"modified":"2018-06-12T12:36:01","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T12:36:01","slug":"david-davis-lords-amendments-would-undermine-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/david-davis-lords-amendments-would-undermine-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"David Davis: Lords amendments would undermine Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>                                  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Protesters outside Parliament\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/C983\/production\/_101978515_mediaitem101978514.jpg\"\/>Image copyright                  AFP                                                    <\/figure>\n<p class=\"caps\">The House of Lords cannot be allowed to &quot;undermine&quot; the UK&#039;s exit from the EU, Brexit Secretary David Davis has told MPs.<\/p>\n<p>He was speaking as he opened two days of debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative MPs have been urged not to rebel against the government&#039;s attempts to kill off Lords amendments.<\/p>\n<p>But the government was hit by a resignation ahead of the votes, with Phillip Lee saying Parliament was being sidelined.<\/p>\n<p>The justice minister announced he was quitting over the Brexit strategy being pursued and that he could not support &quot;how our country&#039;s exit from the EU looks set to be delivered&quot;.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Live updates: MPs debate EU bill changes<\/li>\n<li>Minister quits government over Brexit<\/li>\n<li>How big a problem is Lee&#039;s resignation for May?<\/li>\n<li>The Brexit amendments MPs are voting on<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mr Davis told MPs the bill&#039;s &quot;primary purpose&quot; was to ensure a &quot;functioning statute book&quot; on the day the UK leaves the EU, 29 March 2019.<\/p>\n<p>The most tightly-contested amendment is expected to be a call for Parliament to decide what happens next if it does not like the UK-EU Brexit deal.<\/p>\n<p>The first votes are expected to happen from 16:15 BST.<\/p>\n<h2>Minister resigns over Brexit<\/h2>\n<p>Phillip Lee has been a junior justice minister since July 2016, having first been elected as the Bracknell MP in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Explaining the reasons for his resignation, he cited the government&#039;s opposition to the &quot;meaningful vote&quot; amendment, saying this position &quot;breaches fundamental principles of human rights and Parliamentary sovereignty&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>He also raised concerns about the economic impact of leaving the EU, saying Brexit had turned out to be much more complicated than first thought.<\/p>\n<p>The UK should &quot;pause, extend or revoke&quot; the Article 50 process which formally triggered its departure from the EU, he said, calling for another referendum once ministers&#039; chosen path becomes clear.<\/p>\n<p>Pro-EU campaigners hailed his resignation as significant in their calls for a referendum on the UK and EU&#039;s final Brexit deal.<\/p>\n<p>Brexit-backing former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said he was surprised, adding: &quot;I didn&#039;t realise he felt this strongly.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Duncan Smith said the amendment giving more power to Parliament would be &quot;disastrous&quot; and allow the House of Lords to &quot;block the whole passage of Brexit&quot;.<\/p>\n<h2>Final say for Parliament?<\/h2>\n<figure>             <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/720x405\/p069tzcy.jpg\"\/>Media playback is unsupported on your device<figcaption>Media captionBrexit Secretary tells Today the EU referendum is &quot;irreversible&quot;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the numbers were still &quot;rather dicey&quot; for the so-called meaningful vote amendment.<\/p>\n<p>It would mean ministers &quot;must follow any direction&quot; set by a House of Commons motion if Parliament rejects the final Brexit deal or negotiations run out of time.<\/p>\n<p>The government says this would bind the UK&#039;s hands in the negotiations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brexit: All you need to know<\/li>\n<li>Why is the customs union so important?<\/li>\n<li>Flashpoints ahead for the Brexit bill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Speaking on BBC Radio 4&#039;s Today programme, Mr Davis said a Parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal did not give &quot;the ability to reverse the decision of the referendum&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>Asked what would happen if MPs rejected the deal, he said there would be no time to restart negotiations, with the UK leaving the EU in March 2019.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;If they throw it out, well they throw it out,&quot; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Rebels have dismissed the government&#039;s amendment, a commitment by ministers to make a statement within 28 days should MPs vote down the package negotiated by Mrs May.<\/p>\n<h2>Customs compromise deal?<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption>Image caption                                      Pro and anti-Brexit protesters demonstrated outside Parliament ahead of the votes                              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A showdown over customs seems to have been averted after a compromise amendment was accepted by the government - which means it has agreed to report to Parliament by October on efforts to negotiate a &quot;customs arrangement&quot; with the EU after Brexit.<\/p>\n<p>The fallback position has won the backing of a cross-section of leading Tory MPs on either side of the Brexit argument, avoiding for now a showdown over calls - backed by the House of Lords earlier this year - for the UK to remain in a fully-fledged customs union with the EU after it leaves. <\/p>\n<p>Mr Davis said a &quot;great deal of progress&quot; had been made in negotiations, saying he was expecting both a withdrawal agreement and the &quot;substance&quot; of the UK and EU&#039;s future relationship to be finalised in October.<\/p>\n<p>He also described as &quot;nonsense&quot; reports he threatened to resign over the wording of last week&#039;s &quot;backstop&quot; plan to avoid border checks in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<h2>A big week for Brexit<\/h2>\n<figure>             <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/720x405\/p0654bjw.jpg\"\/>Media playback is unsupported on your device<figcaption>Media captionWhat is the EU customs union?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The EU withdrawal bill is the legislation aimed at ensuring the UK has a smooth transition out of the EU, and will mean EU law is no longer supreme in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>To avoid a sudden &quot;cliff edge&quot; on Brexit day, 29 March 2019, it would also convert existing EU law into UK law so the government and Parliament can decide at a later date which bits they want to keep or change.<\/p>\n<p>The House of Lords has put forward 15 specific changes to the bill, but the government wants to kill off most of these changes.<\/p>\n<p>However, numbers in the House of Commons are finely balanced, with the Conservatives not having a majority and needing the help of Northern Ireland&#039;s Democratic Unionist Party to get their way. <\/p>\n<h2>May: Send the EU a message<\/h2>\n<p>On Monday, Mrs May told her MPs they &quot;must think about the message Parliament will send to the European Union this week&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I am confident I can get a deal that allows us to strike our own trade deals while having a border with the EU which is as frictionless as possible,&quot; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;But if the Lords amendments are allowed to stand, that negotiating position will be undermined.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Please upgrade your browser<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.files.bbci.co.uk\/include\/newsspec\/19077-brexit-glossary\/assets\/project-assets\/brexit_logo--small.png\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>Your guide to Brexit jargon<\/h2>\n<p>                                                                                                                                                             Enter the word or phrase you are looking for                                                                                                                                                                                             Search                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        <\/p>\n<p>Labour, which is backing 14 out of the 15 amendments, is urging Tory rebels to seize the chance to &quot;decisively shape the course of the negotiations&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremy Corbyn&#039;s party is also divided on Brexit, with several MPs unhappy Labour is not backing a bid to keep the UK part of the EU&#039;s single market, like Norway.<\/p>\n<h2>Laura Kuenssberg: Squeaky moment or not? <\/h2>\n<p>There is still a chance of a squeaky moment for the government, or having to rely on votes from some Labour MPs, on a move to give Parliament more power if MPs vote to reject the final Brexit deal.<\/p>\n<p>Sources tell me the numbers are still rather dicey for that so called &quot;meaningful vote&quot; amendment that will take place tomorrow. <\/p>\n<p>There are discussions ongoing among potential rebels about whether they should deploy their forces. <\/p>\n<p>Some of them believe, as they do on the customs issue, that they have the numbers to beat the government if they decide it&#039;s the right moment. Appeals for party unity in the last couple of days, and the compromise on customs seem to have had some sway. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Read Laura&#039;s full blog<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The key dates ahead on Brexit<\/h2>\n<p>Please upgrade your browser to view this content.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.files.bbci.co.uk\/include\/newsspec\/newsslabs\/bot-brexit-roadmap-final\/assets\/project-assets\/icon-timeline-white.svg\"\/>Timeline                                                                 hide                                                                                    <\/p>\n<h2>Brexit key dates<\/h2>\n<p>                                                               Next key date?                       Show all                                              Was this timeline useful?                             Yes                             No                             Thank you for your feedback.                                                               <\/p>\n<h3>Share this timeline.<\/h3>\n<h2>What MPs will be voting on<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The government opposes the following Lords amendments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Granting new powers to oversee changes made to EU law by the government<\/li>\n<li>Removing the precise day of Brexit from the wording of the bill<\/li>\n<li>Removing a section allowing ministers to use secondary legislation to establish when individuals can challenge the validity of retained EU law after exit<\/li>\n<li>Only let ministers use delegated powers to amend retained EU law where &quot;necessary&quot; <\/li>\n<li>Preventing ministers from using delegated powers to implement the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement<\/li>\n<li>Make staying in the European Economic Area, like Norway, a &quot;negotiating objective&quot; for the UK<\/li>\n<li>Transferring the EU&#039;s Charter of Fundamental Rights into UK law<\/li>\n<li>Allowing &quot;enhanced scrutiny&quot; when ministers use delegated powers to change EU employment, equality health and safety, consumer and environment rules<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The government has proposed its own version of these ones:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Giving Parliament the power to decide what happens if MPs and peers reject the final Brexit deal<\/li>\n<li>Explicitly preserving cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic and commit to no new border arrangements without the agreement of the UK and Irish governments<\/li>\n<li>Allowing people to challenge UK law if it fails to comply with the general principles of EU law<\/li>\n<li>Forcing ministers to maintain EU environmental principles in domestic law after Brexit<\/li>\n<li>Compelling ministers to aim for a deal allowing unaccompanied child refugees to join relatives in the UK<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The government has accepted this amendment:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Allowing the UK to replicate EU law made after Brexit day and continue to participate in EU agencies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The government is backing a compromise backbench amendment on this:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Forcing the government to report on &quot;steps taken to negotiate a customs union with the EU&quot; by 31 October<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image copyright AFP The House of Lords cannot be allowed to &quot;undermine&quot; the UK&#039;s exit from the EU, Brexit Secretary David Davis has told MPs. He was speaking as he<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}