On Thursday, the Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg, gave an impassioned speech threatening Lords who delayed Boris’ Brexit deal.
Rees-Mogg confirmed that the UK’s Internal Market Bill will return on December 7, after having been returned to the Commons with controversial amendments.
The House of Lords scrutinised the Internal Market Bill and removed key elements of the legislation that would allow the Government to override the Withdrawal Agreement in a very specific manner, to ensure the continuity of the UK’s internal market in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Rees-Mogg speech laid out the Government’s plan to ignore the amendment and return the legislation to the Lords.
Rees-Mogg said: “We will be doing the Lord’s amendments on Monday and we will be pushing back all the amendments which were made in the Lords – including the ones relating to Clause 5 – and ensuring that we can put the best interests of the whole United Kingdom first.”
Referring to “the whole United Kingdom”, he argued that the powers in the Bill are necessary to preserve the relationship between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government has acknowledged critics confirming that it would technically violate international law if used. Critics are further claiming that the powers given are being used as a negotiating tactic, and that in the meantime, they would damage the UK’s international trading reputation.
MPs are due to debate the legislation next week and are scheduled to approve the Post-Transition Period Bill regarding the creation, extension, or increase of taxes or other charges.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, however, is still divided on the issue of supporting of abstaining from voting on the Brexit deal. However, he has vaguely suggested that Labour will unite on a position soon, saying: “Of course there are different opinions, as you would expect, but we will pull together, discuss it as a team, and be united.”
