UK parliament offered vote on Brexit deal

The UK parliament is being offered the chance to debate and vote on any final Brexit deal in a bid to appease ructious Conservative Party MPs.

The UK parliament is being offered the chance to debate and vote on any final Brexit deal

The UK parliament is being offered the chance to debate and vote on any final Brexit deal. Source: Getty Images

British Brexit minister David Davis says the government would allow parliament the opportunity to debate, scrutinise and vote on any final Brexit agreement, offering a concession to Conservative Party rebels.

Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to offer a 'meaningful vote' on any deal for Britain's departure from the European Union.

Members of her own party are willing to vote against the government to stymie a bill which she says is needed to sever ties with the bloc.

"I can now confirm that once we've reached an agreement we will bring forward a specific piece of primary legislation to implement that agreement," Davis told parliament on Monday.

"This also means that parliament will be given time to debate, scrutinise and vote on the final agreement we strike with the European Union. This agreement will only hold if parliament approves it."
May's blueprint for Britain's exit from the EU faces a crucial test starting on Tuesday, when MPs will debate the EU withdrawal bill that she says is crucial to give companies confidence that the rules will not change after Brexit.

MPs have proposed 186 pages of amendments to the bill, which largely 'copy and paste' EU rules and regulations into British law but also, critics say, hand the government wide-ranging powers and cut parliament out of some Brexit planning.

Davis said the government would allow parliament the chance to vote on a 'withdrawal agreement and implementation bill' once it has secured a Brexit deal with the European Union, which both sides aim to do by late next year.

"This confirms that the major policies set out in the withdrawal agreement (with the EU) will be directly implemented into UK law by primary legislation," he said. Primary legislation means making law by acts of parliament or statute.

Some MPs welcomed the move, but others said the change in procedure would mean that if Britain failed to negotiate a deal with the EU, parliament would have no say, and that there would not be time for a proper chance to have sway over a deal.

Share
2 min read

Published

Updated


Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world