Senior Tory Lord Heseltine vows to rebel in Lords Brexit debate and help force through amendments to Article 50 Bill
The ex-Deputy PM has vowed to defy his own Government three-line whip to back for “a meaningful vote” on the final EU divorce deal, but with “a heavy heart”
TORY grandee Lord Heseltine will lead a peers' rebellion over Theresa May’s Brexit Bill this week.
The ex-Deputy PM has vowed to defy his own Government three-line whip to back for “a meaningful vote” on the final EU divorce deal, but with “a heavy heart”.
Remoaning Peers are increasingly confident they have the numbers in the upper chamber to send the Article 50 Bill back to the Commons with amendments attached.
Peers will debate the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, again this week, with No10 braced for a week of “ping-pong”, where the Lords will send the Bill back to the Commons to urge them to think again
Some want to force Mrs May to secure the rights of EU nationals living in the country before Brexit talks begin, and others are calling for a meaningful vote on the deal reached with the EU.
Last week Peers held two days of marathon debates on the Bill - which will allow the PM to trigger Article 50 next month. MPs overwhelmingly voted it through without amendment just weeks ago.
"This is to ensure the Commons can exercise its authority over the defining issue of our time."
And the 83-year-old also said that there could be a cause for ANOTHER referendum - if Brexit talks end in failure and voters change their minds.
He wrote: "At the moment there is no evidence that public opinion has changed. The PM rides high in the polls. But what if this changes?"
Lord Heseltine argued that politicians must be allowed to “exercise its authority over the defining issue of our time”.
He added that Parliament and not the people have the “rightful constitutional role as the ultimate authority.”
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But today Home Secretary Amber Rudd hit back, saying it was extremely unlikely the PM would accept the changes and urged Lord Helestine and Tory colleagues like Baroness Altman to reconsider.
She said that there were "plenty of opportunities to debate and consider" Brexit for the UK - and insisted that the legislation should go through unamended.
Asked by ITV’s Peston on Sunday whether there the Government would accept changes to the divorce bill, the Home Secretary said: “No, I don’t think there is any possibility and I don’t think there should be. This is a process bill. It’s just about beginning the process.”
"I hope he will reconsider," she added.
As the Government have a majority in the Lords, they could outvote the Government if Labour, Lib Dems and some Tory rebels club together.
Amendments on the Brexit Bill are due to be voted on in the Lords tomorrow.