MPs Pass Boris Johnson’s Brexit Bill to Override EU Withdrawal Agreement

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 26: Union Jack flags flutter in the wind in front of the Houses of
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Kurt Zindulka

On Tuesday, the House of Common’s approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill that seeks to give the United Kingdom the ability to amend sections of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) with the European Union.

Despite claims from the EU that amending the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement is illegal, the bill passed with an 84 vote majority and will now be sent to the House of Lords, before it is given Royal assent and made into law.

The bill was passed on its third reading on Tuesday night, with no Tories voting against the bill. However, former Prime Minister Theresa May, a critic of the tough negotiating stance taken by her predecessor, did not register a vote.

At the opening of the debate in the Commons, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said per Sky News: “Our approach will give businesses the regulatory clarity and certainty they want.”

“It will ensure the cost of doing business in the UK stays as low as possible, and it’ll do so without damaging and costly regulatory barriers emerging between the different parts of the UK,” Sharma added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has argued that the EU was not negotiating in “good faith” and was attempting to “carve up the country” by creating barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Should those barriers remain post-Brexit, then the EU would still have control over parts of the UK’s laws and regulations, thereby nullifying the main goal of the Brexit movement, to regain British national sovereignty.

Following the passage of the Internal Market Bill, Conservative co-chairman Amanda Milling derided the Labour Party for opposing the government and siding with the European Union.

“On their final opportunity to stand up for the integrity of the UK, Labour have unsurprisingly again chosen to side with the EU,” Milling said.

“For all their talk of new leadership, Labour’s actions tell a very different story – they won’t stand up to Brussels, they won’t protect the Union and Sir Keir Starmer won’t rule out working with Nicola Sturgeon to rip our country apart,” she added.

“Our UK Internal Market Bill protects the Union and ensures we can preserve peace in Northern Ireland, delivering on our manifesto promise to ensure unfettered trade across the whole United Kingdom,” Milling concluded.

The bill will now be taken up by the House of Lords, where unlike the Commons, the Conservative Party does not hold a majority, meaning that it may face a tougher challenge in passing.

Downing Street has said that if the House of Lords tries to block the bill, then it would be in violation of constitutional conventions.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here: @KurtZindulka

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