LORDS A MEDDLING
Meddling Lords vote to keep Britain in Single Market, causing headache for Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn
PRO-EU Lords last night voted to keep Britain in the Single Market in a major headache for both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.
The Government were defeated on an amendment that would force Britain to remain a member of the European Economic Area 245 to 218 — but they immediately vowed to unpick the demand.
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And the amendment is also an embarrassment for Jeremy Corbyn who ordered his peers to abstain — but was ignored by 83 of them.
The Labour chief now faces a major rebellion from Remain supporting Labour MPs when the EU Withdrawal Bill returns to the Commons in two weeks time - in a row that could tear his party apart.
In three crushing blows to Theresa May’s flagship Brexit legislation, yesterday peers also amended the Bill to keep Britain tied to a host of Brussels agencies — and possibly in the EU forever.
Peers voted to remove the exit date of 29 March 2019 - meaning leaving could be postponed indefinitely if talks with the EU are unsuccessful.
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That defeat was spearheaded by the Conservative Duke of Wellington, with peers backing him 311 to 233.
The descendant of the hero Waterloo insisted he just wanted to give ministers greater flexibility in negotiations and not to “thwart the process”.
But Labour’s Lord Grocott said the world outside would see the moves were designed to “put further down the track the date on which we shall be leaving the EU”.
He warned of a “chasm” between the spread of opinion in the Lords and in the country at large, and said the compounded effect of defeats on the Bill made it appear the Lords was trying to delay, block or reverse the referendum decision.
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Another vote to keep the UK in a host of EU agencies after Brexit was also passed with a hefty majority, meaning in total Lords have now demanded 13 changes to the troubled Bill.
In heated scenes prominent Brexiteer Lord Forsyth said it sometimes felt like “one has wandered into the film Groundhog Day” hearing “the same arguments over and over again”.
He accused Lord Alli, Lord Mandelson and other supporters of keeping Britain lashed to Brussels market rules of “seeking to undermine” the Government’s negotiating position.
“The truth of the matter is there are a number of people in this House who wish to reverse the decision of the British people,” he said.
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What other defeats have there been on Theresa May's EU Withdrawal Bill?
- Earlier today Peers defeated the Govrnment which would enable the UK to stay in some European agencies after Brexit (298 to 277 votes)
- Giving MPs the power to stop the UK from leaving the EU without a deal, or making Theresa May return to negotiations (335 to 244 votes). Ex-minister Viscount Hailsham, who as MP Douglas Hogg charged the taxpayer to clean the moat at his manor house, put down a wrecking amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill.
- Another amendment passed by Lords would require ministers to get approval from Parliament for their aims in talks about the UK's future relationship with the EU (271 votes to 233)
- One change would ensure family reunification for asylum seekers after Brexit (205 votes to 181)
- Lords also voted for ministers to explain what it has done to pursue the option of staying in a Customs Union (348 votes to 225 - April 18). That put the PM under pressure to consider staying in the EU's union, but would mean we can't sign our own trade deals and go it truly alone.
- Another amendment limited the power of ministers to slash red tape without the approval of Parliament - using so-called Henry VIII powers (314 votes to 2017 - April 18)
- Lords votes to transfer the Charter of Fundamental Rights into domestic law (316 - 245 votes - April 23)
- Ministers would be prevented from using regulations to establish when people can challenge EU law after Brexit under another amendment (285 - 235 - April 23)
- Lords said legal challenges to our law should be allowed if they don't abide by EU laws too (280 - 223 - April 23)
- Peers voted to say ministers could only change EU law with delegated it was "necessary" to do so (349 - 221 - April 25)
- The Government has also accepted several amendments to the Bill - including that the courts should refer to European Court of Justice judgements when "relevant" and clarifying the status of retained EU laws after exit day
Ministers only lost one vote on the EU withdrawal Bill in the Commons - when 11 Tory rebels voted in favour of a change which would only allow ministers to use powerful statutory instruments to change law if Parliament voted in favour of the withdrawal deal first.
Intervening, Lord Alli called on him to “take it down a notch”, but Lord Forsyth pointed out he had been jeered.
But if they don't agree on it, the Bill could fail totally.
The Conservative peer said: “What he is proposing is that we fly in the face of the biggest democratic vote in our history.”
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