United Kingdom plans for European Union exit facing more snags in Parliament

The bill authorizing Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger the Article 50 European Union exit mechanism is now progressing through Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords.

Government defeated in the Lords by 366 to 268 on whether there should be a “meaningful vote” on Theresa May’s final Brexit deal.

“The government could face many close votes, concessions or defeats as it tries to implement Brexit”, former Tory leader William Hague wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Another change to the wording, passed last week, aims to protect the rights of European Union citizens living in Britain.

Lord Lang, a Tory former Cabinet minister, said the Bill would be “an extremely complicated piece of legislation” and the Government might need to be given “wide-ranging powers” over the process of turning European Union legislation into domestic law.

Cabinet minister David Lidington has said any sign Parliament wanted to limit Mrs May’s room for manoeuvre or was prepared to rethink Brexit if the talks went badly would make “an ambitious, mutually beneficial deal much more difficult”.

“The sole goal is to ensure the outcome – agreed terms or no agreed terms – is subject to the unfettered discretion of parliament”, he said. What is clear is that these relationships will need to change in the coming years, but what the full outcome of Brexit will actually mean both for Europe and the United Kingdom remains to be seen.

Peers will then send the bill back to the House of Commons, where the government will attempt to overturn the changes.

“The prime minister has been very clear, we’re a nation that honours its obligations and if we do have any bills that fall to be paid, we’ll obviously deal with them in the proper way”, Hammond told “The Andrew Marr Show” earlier on Sunday.

Theresa May is braced for a second Brexit defeat today as peers began a final marathon debate on triggering Article 50.

The Prime Minister has been warned against the use of so-called Henry VIII clauses which would allow her to avoid full parliamentary scrutiny of the Brexit process.

May wants the 137-word draft to go through Parliament without changes to give her the maximum freedom to negotiate with European Union leaders.

May wants to trigger Brexit negotiations by the end of this month, and remains on track to do so.

The report from the Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee said: “Restoration of national control over EU migration may or may not, therefore, deliver a reduction in overall net migration”.

Conservative MP Bob Neill has signalled he is one of those prepared to vote against the Government unless Mrs May gives Parliament more say on any Brexit deal.