Government avoids defeat on second reading of EU Withdrawal Bill

The Yorkshire Post says: Labour MPs in Leave constituencies caught between a rock and a hard place on Brexit bill

Don Valley MP Caroline Flint and Rother Valley MP Sir Kevin Barron were among a number of Labour backbenchers expected to break the party whip by abstaining or vote in favour of the EU Withdrawal Bill.

Their decision dealt a major blow to leader Jeremy Corbyn, who order his MPs to vote again the Bill over concerns about a Government “power grab”.

But the threat of a Government defeat is not over, as reports suggest Tory rebels could join opposition MPs in demanding changes at a later stage.

The Bill passed its second reading by 326 votes to 290.

Ms Flint, whose constituents backed Brexit by a majority of two to one, was one of the first Labour MPs to announce she would abstain in last night’s vote. Explaining her decision, she warned that any attempt to “kill” the legislation “would cause huge problems” for the Brexit process.

“I do not regard this Bill as hugely controversial... The truth is, whoever was in Government, we would have to pass a Bill of this kind to prepare for leaving the EU,” Ms Flint told the Commons.

“And there can be little disagreement on that, unless your ambition is to thwart the result of the EU referendum and prevent or delay the UK leaving the EU.”

Confirming his decision to abstain on Twitter, Sir Kevin stated that a vote against the Bill “would be a contradiction” of the promises he made during the election.

“Before the Article 50 vote in January I promised not to block or delay any legislation related to our exit from the EU. I repeated this promise in much of my election literature,” he wrote.

But he added that he would “carry on pressuring the Government” to ensure ministers secure a good Brexit deal, and would be willing to back amendments to the Bill at a later stage.

The piece of legislation – one of eight Brexit-related Bills due to come forward in this Parliamentary session – aims to transfer relevant EU law onto the UK statute book.

A number of Tory backbenchers today joined opposition MPs in expressing concern about the use of Henry VIII clauses in the Bill, which grant ministers the power to make changes to related laws without full Parliamentary scrutiny.

Many made it clear they would vote in favour of a second reading, but expect significant changes to the most contentious clauses when it enters committee stage.

Addressing the Commons, the chair of the Justice Select committee, Robert Neill, argued that the Henry VIII powers as "go beyond what is acceptable or necessary".

He added that he would support the Bill "on the basis that it needs improvement in a number of areas" and called for greater "flexibility" on the timetabling if MPs decide further scrutiny is necessary.

Health Select Committee chairman Dr Sarah Wollaston warned that the use of these powers could be "unprecedented in scale, scope and constitutional significance.

"I will support the Bill tonight in the expectation that it will be amended in Committee and that there will be support for reforming the way delegated legislation is handled, so that Parliament, rather than the Government, can decide the appropriate level of scrutiny," she said.

The scale of cross-party support for such reforms could force ministers to make concessions – or risk a defeat.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Education Minister Robert Goodwill indicated that the Government would be willing to consider amendments that “improve the Bill”.

He added: “We seem to have very small numbers on our side who have issues with some of this [but] the Conservative Party... is very much behind the Prime Minister in her wish to deliver a successful Brexit.”

Ahead of the debate, the Brexit Secretary David Davis urged MPs of all parties to back the legislation, stating that a vote against it "is a vote for a chaotic exit from the European Union".

A number of Labour MPs defended their decision to oppose the Bill, with Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith stressing this did not equate to "voting against Brexit".

"The Bill represents not just a step along the way towards departure from the European Union, but an unacceptable attempt by the Government to strengthen their hand when it comes to exercising legislative power," she said.

"Surely, if the Government were genuinely committed to a smooth Brexit that restored total sovereignty to Westminster, they would not have taken such a cavalier approach to this critically important piece of legislation."

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