More than 100 MPs set to vote against triggering Article 50 in crunch debate tonight as Michael Gove blasts ‘Remoaners’ for plotting to ‘delay and dilute’ Brexit
MORE THAN 100 MPs from all sides of the House are set to vote against triggering Article 50 in tonight’s crunch debate as Michael Gove blasts the ‘Remoaners.
The former Cabinet minister said the pro-EU members of the Commons who say they want more detail on Theresa May’s plan “seeking not clarity but obfuscation, delay and a dilution of the democratic mandate of the British people”.
He said in yesterday’s opening day of debate it would be “harmful for our democracy” if his colleagues reject the referendum result.
Speaking in the Commons he attacked the MPs who called for a White Paper to set out the Government’s detailed policy, saying they “rarely outline what they think the right course of action is”.
He added: “It is very rare to hear a positive case being put forward. Instead, we repeatedly hear attempts to rewrite what happened in the referendum.”
Mr Gove’s comments came ahead of the Prime Minister’s Brexit bill was due to face its first Commons hurdle this evening.
The legislation giving her permission to trigger Article 50 is expected to pass, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ordering his MPs to back the Government's Bill.
But a revolt from pro-Remain MPs on the Labour benches could give him a headache and he may be forced to sack frontbenchers who fail to follow his orders.
With the SNP, as well as some Liberal Democrats and other MPs set to vote against it as well, there will be most likely more than 100 MPs voting against the legislation.
Yesterday the Brexit Secretary introduced the legislation by stressing the Government's determination to trigger Article 50 by the end of March, starting the formal two-year countdown to leaving the EU.
But David Davis warned MPs they would not be able to vote to block Brexit, telling them the "point of no return" had already passed.
Following the vote for Brexit in last June's referendum, Mr Davis said the only question now before Parliament was: "Do we trust the people or not?"
The Government faces an additional hurdle after Commons Speaker John Bercow selected a Scottish National Party amendment to be voted on.
It would delay Article 50 on grounds including that the Government has failed to provide for consultation with devolved administrations or published a White Paper on its negotiating strategy.
But ministers remain confident that the legislation will be fast-tracked through Parliament in order to meet Mrs May's deadline for triggering Article 50.
This remains to be seen, as the real parliamentary battle is not expected to take place until next week, when opposition parties attempt to push through a series of amendments as the Bill undergoes detailed scrutiny in its committee stage.
What happens next with the Brexit Bill?
MPs are set to vote on the Brexit Bill this evening, after two days of debates in the House of Commons on the legislation and five possible amendments:
- There are three separate votes – firstly on an amendment tabled by the SNP, which is likely to fail
- The second – which is likely to pass – is on the bill itself, and the third vote is on the timetable for the bill going forward
- If the bill passes tonight, there will be a committee stage next Monday, with three more days of debates, and more votes on amendments
- This is where the Government could come unstuck, with Labour and Tory rebels planning to gang up and demand Theresa May gives Parliament the final say on whether to walk out of Brexit negotiations with no deal
- But if the bill passes at this stage, it will be followed by the third reading of the bill on Wednesday, which will complete its passage through the Commons by February 8
- It then passes through to the House of Lords, where the Government does not have a majority, for scrutiny on Monday February 20.
- It will undergo a committee stage, where the Government is set to face numerous attempts to amend the legislation on Monday, February 27 and Wednesday, March 1
- If peers successfully pass any amendments it will be sent back to the Commons for another vote, in a process known as "ping-pong", which could potentially delay it being passed
- The Government's timetable says it is expected to complete its passage through the Lords by Tuesday, March 7, and will then receive the Queen's approval, known as royal assent - and become an Act of Parliament
- If this is successful it would allow Theresa May to then trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty at a European Council meeting in Brussels later that week, three weeks before her self-imposed deadline of March 31