British Prime Minister Theresa May scored a parliamentary victory as both Houses of Parliament passed the Brexit bill unamended late on Monday, leaving her free to trigger Article 50 by the end of March as planned. There had been speculation that Brexit talks could be triggered as early as Tuesday, but it is now expected to take place at the end of month, following a meeting of EU heads of governments in Rome on March 25 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties, the founding treaties of the European project.
The parliamentary victory was somewhat overshadowed by Monday’s announcement by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of plans to hold a second referendum before the end of Brexit talks in 2019. Ms. Sturgeon argued that her government had faced a “brick wall of intransigence” in Westminster, and a lack of willingness to engage with the devolved assemblies as had been promised, particularly on the issue of single market access. Also complicating matters was the call by the Sinn Fein, the second largest party in Northern Ireland, for a vote on unifying Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.
Vote on legislation
The legislation on Brexit has made rapid progress through the Houses of Parliament from late January. The Brexit bill first made it through the House of Commons unchallenged, but peers in the House of Lords were successful in introducing two amendments guaranteeing the right to remain of EU citizens in the U.K., and requiring Parliament to be given more of a voice through the negotiations. The government had already pledged a vote to Parliament, but peers sought to ensure it was a meaningful one rather than one that was done on a “take it or leave it basis”, leaving Parliament with the choice between the deal being proposed and reverting to WTO rules. However, when the bill was returned to the House of Commons, these clauses were removed, and the House of Lords subsequently chose not to make another challenge, passing the bill by a majority of 274 to 118.
The lack of any amendment to the original legislation means that the government will be able to commence Brexit talks along the lines outlined by Prime Minister Theresa May in January and in a subsequent white paper, taking Britain out of the European single market and the customs union to enable the government to end freedom of movement from the EU.
