Fury after PM reveals plan to hold 15 crunch Commons votes on Brexit in a single day – as Lords threaten to defy elected MPs again
All the Lords amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill will be debated by MPs next Tuesday
THERESA May sparked a furious backlash tonight after it emerged the Commons will hold 15 votes on the key Brexit bill on a single day.
Remainer Lords vowed to punish the PM by pressing ahead with wrecking amendments to the bill - even if they’re rejected by MPs.
Mrs May’s enforcer, Chief Whip Julian Smith, told Tories today that all 15 amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill previously passed by the Lords would be considered by the Commons next Tuesday.
MPs are set to debate past midnight as they consider whether to accept the amendments or strike them out of the law, which will formally take us out of the EU.
Among the amendments to be voted on are motions to keep Britain tied to the single market and customs union after Brexit, as well as enshrining EU human rights law in UK statute.
Opposition MPs accused the Government of trying to dodge proper scrutiny of its Brexit strategy by scheduling all the votes on the same day - allowing less than an hour of debate per amendment.
And arch-Remainer Peter Mandelson claimed Mrs May would "pay a price" - warning that his fellow Lords may defy the Commons by refusing to withdraw their amendments even if MPs vote them down.
Speaking to Blairite think-tank Progress in London, he said tonight: "The Lords will take a very dim view of the seriousness of their amendments being considered and then dismissed in a single day.
"If that's the way the Government wants to play this, it will certainly encourage the Lords in pressing their amendments and asking the Commons to think again.
"It would be provocative - and they would pay a price for it."
That could set up a constitutional crisis because it would overturn the convention that the Lords usually scraps its amendments if the Commons votes against them.
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Shadow Brexit Minister Jenny Chapman accused the Government of a “shameful decision”, claiming ministers want to “limit the chance for proper debate and scrutiny”.
Labour MP David Lammy, a supporter of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign, said: "This shows total contempt of Parliament to try and railroad 15 amendments through Parliament in just a single session.”
Chuka Umunna added: “It is absolutely outrageous for the Government to allocate just one day to a debate that promises to be crucial for the future of our country.”
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