Labour grapples with whether to back bill in second phase of debate as Theresa May warns against delay tactics

Theresa May has warned MPs not to obstruct the Brexit bill during its second phase of debate in the House of Commons, as Labour failed in its attempt to secure regular parliamentary scrutiny of the EU negotiations.

The prime minister called on MPs not to use parliamentary procedures to delay the passage of the bill, which will be debated over the next three days.



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Dozens of amendments have been tabled by Labour and opposition MPs in the hope of getting enough cross-party support to secure better parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit, the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, access to the single market and a more meaningful vote at the end of the two-year negotiations.

However, the House of Commons opposed a Labour amendment that would have forced May to make regular reports back to parliament every two months by 333 to 284 – a majority of 49 for the government.

Another Labour amendment calling for the leaders of the devolved administrations to be consulted and have their views taken into account before any final Brexit deal also failed by 333 votes to 276 – an even bigger government majority of 57.

There were angry scenes in the House of Commons before the vote as only two Scottish, one Welsh and one Northern Ireland MP were given time to speak in the debate. Joanna Cherry, the SNP MP who was cut off by the deputy speaker, said it showed that Westminster holds Scotland’s views in contempt.



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May had earlier argued that any move to slow down the passage of the bill was tantamount to obstructing the verdict of the June referendum.

“Our European partners now want to get on with the negotiations, so do I, and so does this House, which last week voted by a majority of 384 in support of the government triggering article 50,” she said.

“There are of course further stages for the bill in committee and in the Lords and it is right that this process should be completed properly. But the message is clear to all – this House has spoken and now is not the time to obstruct the democratically expressed wishes of the British people.

“It is time to get on with leaving the European Union and building an independent, self-governing, global Britain.”

Some senior Conservative MPs and ministers were even put on a bus back from the party’s annual Black and White Ball to be present for the crucial parliamentary vote but the first Labour amendment was fairly easily defeated.

Opposition MPs are more hopeful of gaining support from rebel Tories during the next two days on the issues of guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals in the UK or a more meaningful vote on at the end of the two year negotiations.

Some Conservatives have indicated they could be willing to back amendment 110 tabled by Chris Leslie, the former shadow chancellor, calling for “any new deal or treaty” with the EU to be put to a vote before both houses of parliament. This would give MPs the opportunity to reject any exit terms they felt unsatisfactory.

However, the government is fairly confident it will be able to withstand any rebellion on the Tory benches, which would have to be sizeable to succeed.

Speaking in the House of Commons, May hinted that more detail could be given about the form of the vote after negotiations when David Davis, the Brexit secretary, addresses parliament on Tuesday, which may be enough to dissuade backbench Conservatives from rebelling.

Labour’s shadow cabinet will decide on Tuesday whether to back the Brexit bill on the final vote, regardless of whether their amendments pass.

Nick Brown, the Labour chief whip, told the parliamentary party on Monday night that he was in favour of “consistency” in whipping, suggesting the party will stick to its position of asking MPs to vote in favour of triggering article 50.

However, it is understood some shadow cabinet ministers have been pressing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to abstain on the final vote, which would be in keeping with his promise not to block the bill.

The scale of division facing the party over Brexit was underlined after one of Corbyn’s key trade union backers called on Labour MPs to defy the whip if the leadership asks them to vote for an unamended bill in favour of triggering article 50.

Manuel Cortes, the general secretary of the TSSA union, which backed Corbyn’s two leadership campaigns, said he supported Labour’s vote in favour of article 50 last week, but the bill should not be allowed to pass unamended.

In particular, he said Labour should not vote for Brexit without receiving guarantees about the rights of EU nationals to stay in the UK and other key amendments on workers’ rights and parliamentary scrutiny.

“The idea of the Tories deploying the threat of mass deportation of EU families living here as a negotiating ace is unacceptable,” he wrote in an article for the Guardian. “That alone should be enough to prove why waving through an unamended Tory Brexit bill is a big mistake.

“If Labour’s amendments fail, then the facts change and our Labour party must face that circumstance and do the right thing and whip our MPs into voting against an unamended Tory Brexit. If they don’t, then our MPs must do the right thing and vote against it anyway.”



Corbyn told May on Monday that guaranteeing the position of EU nationals in the UK was a matter of human rights and decency.



However, the prime minister said it was “not the right way forward” to make a unilateral declaration preserving their rights when UK nationals in the rest of the EU have no such assurances yet.

“As I have said before, EU citizens living in the UK make a vital contribution to our economy and our society and without them we would be poorer and our public services weaker,” she said.

“So we will make securing the reciprocal agreement that will guarantee their status a priority as soon as the negotiations begin, and I want to see this agreed as soon as possible because that is in everyone’s interests.”