Boris Johnson set to bring Brexit bill before MPs on Friday
The Prime Minister is to plough ahead with plans to quit the EU in the first week back after his dramatic Thursday night victory, with new MPs voting on his Brexit bill as early as this week.
The Number 10 spokesman confirmed this morning that Boris Johnson would seek to bring the Withdrawal Agreement Bill back as soon as possible after Thursday’s Queen Speech.
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It is thought that could mean the initial stages will be carried out on Friday.
However, it is unlikely that the main scrutiny of the bill will be carried out before Christmas, with the Prime Minister thought to be relaxed about the time frame to get this all important bill through before the Brexit deadline of 31 January.
Thursday night’s result has given him a majority of 80.
The PM’s spokesman refused to say whether the Brexit bill would be exactly the same as the one given a second reading by MPs before the election.
He said: “You will have to wait for it to be published but it will reflect the agreement that we made with the EU on our withdrawal.”
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Ultimately the government would be aiming for “a Canada-style free trade agreement with no political alignment” in its talks with the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal. But he refused to say any more about the government’s strategy in those talks.
Johnson is expected to reshuffle elements of his cabinet this afternoon, after culture secretary Nicky Morgan and Welsh secretary Alun Cairns both stood down at the election.