Brexit: EU Withdrawal Bill passes after MPs traded barbs in late-night debate
Theresa May’s government won the first vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill in the early hours of this morning, 318 votes to 296.
Prominent Remain campaigner Anna Soubry told the House earlier in the evening: “We must begin the process [of leaving the European Union] and see it through…”.
However, the government looks set to face a series of proposed amendments at future stages of debate. Arch-Brexiteer Peter Bone said: “I would be very surprised if this bill finishes up in exactly he same format at the end… it seems to me the government will be well advised to accept the reasonable amendments that improve the situation.”
Critics of the bill included Green MP Caroline Lucas, who damned it as “zombie legislation”, while Labour MP Stephen Doughty said it was “all part of a similar agenda by the government to shut down democratic debate”.
Colleague Chris Bryant said the bill contained “clauses that [Turkish leader Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, [Venezuelan leader Nicolas] Maduro or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would be proud of”.
But not all Labour MPs were critical.
Don Valley MP and former Remainer Caroline Flint said the party should seek to “improve this bill, not kill it” – and pledged to abstain on the vote. Rother Valley MP Kevin Barron and Warley MP John Spellar were also expected to defy the three-line whip.
After Jeremy Corbyn gave yet another confused interview earlier in the day, Labour’s position on Brexit came under fire from Tory MP Conor Burns, who said “the front bench are getting their inspiration from Heinz, the 57 varieties of Brexit that are on offer”.
But there was general consensus that the bill was, as Conservative MP Derek Thomas put it, “the only game in town”, although as fellow Tory Sarah Wollaston said, the government must allow “sensible amendments” to be made at a later date.
A second vote saw the EU Withdrawal Bill passed through to the committee stage by 326 to 290, where MPs have pledged to put it under more rigorous scrutiny, particularly over the way it hands “sweeping” powers to ministers.