Yahoo – AFP,
Alice RITCHIE, December 13, 2017
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May managed to strike a deal in Brussels last week to move onto the next stage of Brexit negotiations, but is already facing more problems (AFP Photo/Niklas HALLEN) |
London
(AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday suffered a damaging
parliamentary defeat over Brexit, after her own MPs rebelled to demand
parliament have the final say on the divorce deal with Brussels.
Members of
May's Conservative party joined with opposition lawmakers to inflict the
government's first defeat over the flagship EU (Withdrawal) Bill, sparking huge
cheers in the House of Commons.
Ministers
had sought to buy off the rebels with a last-minute promise of a parliamentary
vote on the separation agreement, but their leader, former attorney general
Dominic Grieve, warned: "It's too late."
His
amendment demanding a statutory vote on the deal before Britain leaves the EU
in March 2019 passed by 309 votes to 305.
The Brexit
ministry said it was "disappointed".
"We
will now determine whether further changes are needed to the bill to ensure it
fulfils its vital purpose," the ministry said in a statement.
It is a
blow to May on the eve of a crucial summit in Brussels, where EU leaders are
expected to approve the terms of the interim Brexit deal agreed last week after
months of tortuous negotiations.
Gina
Miller, a leading pro-EU campaigner, reacted saying: "Parliamentary
sovereignty wins the day!"
But Nigel
Farage, a key driving force behind the Brexit campaign, said: "My contempt
for career politicians knows no bounds".
Hampering
'smooth' Brexit
The EU
(Withdrawal) Bill is intended to formally end Britain's membership of the EU,
as well as smooth its exit by transferring thousands of pieces of European
legislation onto the UK statute books.
It also
gives ministers powers to amend the laws as they move across, to address any
technical glitches.
But MPs
objected to the fact that these so-called "Henry VIII" powers also
extend to the implementation of the withdrawal agreement with the EU.
Tory MP
Iain Duncan Smith, a hardline Brexiteer, had accused Grieve of "looking
for ways to derail the bill", saying his amendment would "tie the
government's hands" in negotiations with the EU.
But one
Conservative MP, Antoinette Sandbach, had warned: "The government is
presiding over a monumental task of immense importance for the future of this
country.
"With
any such change it is imperative that parliament maintains close scrutiny and
oversight of the process."
In a
written statement to parliament earlier Wednesday, Brexit Secretary David Davis
promised that no withdrawal agreement would be implemented until a vote in both
Houses of Parliament.
Parliament
would then be asked to approve a further piece of legislation to implement the
deal.
But
ministers wanted to preserve their special powers in the event that this law is
not passed in time.
"That
could be at a very late stage in the proceedings, which could mean that we are
not able to have the orderly and smooth exit from the European Union that we
wish to have," May told MPs earlier.
'Blank
cheque'
After
months of wrangling, May secured a deal last week on three priorities of the
separation -- Britain's financial settlement, the Irish border and the rights
of expatriates.
It was a
rare moment of triumph for the prime minister, who has been struggling to
assert her authority since losing her parliamentary majority in a disastrous
election in June.
The
European Parliament on Wednesday gave its backing to the deal, and EU leaders
meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday are expected to give the green light
to move the Brexit negotiations onto trade.
However,
the sense of victory has been tempered by a dispute with Brussels over comments
made by Davis at the weekend, suggesting Britain was not fully committed to the
agreement.
Wednesday's
vote spells further domestic trouble ahead for May, as parliament and her party
are divided about Britain's future relationship with the EU.
Ahead of
Wednesday's vote, Grieve warned that ministers were asking for "a blank
cheque to the government to achieve something that, at the moment, we don't
know what it is".
#UPDATE British PM May's own MPs rebelled to demand parliament have the final say on the Brexit divorce deal with Brussels https://t.co/O0irKn4HMf by @alicejritchie pic.twitter.com/Mfv9Lm87BH— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 13, 2017
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