British MPs vote on bill to avoid ‘chaotic’ Brexit

LONDON: MPs were to hold their first vote late on Monday on a bill to end Britain’s membership of the EU, which ministers say will avoid a “chaotic” Brexit but has been condemned as an unprecedented power grab.

The legislation would repeal on Brexit day the 1972 law through which Britain joined the bloc, transferring in bulk around 12,000 existing EU regulations onto the British statute books.

It is the next step in implementing last year’s historic referendum vote to leave the EU, after Prime Minister Theresa May formally notified Brussels of Britain’s withdrawal in March.

“Businesses and individuals need reassurance that there will be no unexpected changes to our laws after exit day and that is exactly what the Repeal Bill provides,” Brexit Secretary David Davis said.

He added: “A vote against this bill is a vote for a chaotic exit from the European Union.”

May’s spokesman told reporters on Monday: “We encourage all MPs to support it”. The main opposition Labour party has vowed to try to defeat the bill, however, arguing that its provisions to smooth the transfer of EU laws represent an unacceptable expansion of executive power.

Many EU regulations may need adjusting as they are transferred, and the bill proposes the broad use of existing “Henry VIII powers” that allow ministers to amend legislation without full parliamentary scrutiny.

Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said it was “fatally flawed” and an “affront to parliament”.

Some Labour MPs, particularly those in areas that voted strongly in favour of leaving the EU in last year’s referendum, have however said they will defy their party leadership and vote in favour of the bill.

May’s minority Conservative government is expected to win Monday’s vote, which could come as late as midnight, thanks to its alliance with the Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

But Conservative MPs have warned they could seek to amend the bill as it comes under further scrutiny in the coming weeks, amid concerns about its constitutional implications.

Britain remains divided over Brexit, and on Saturday thousands of people marched through London calling for the whole process to be abandoned.

Most MPs have accepted it will happen, with Europhile former Conservative finance minister Ken Clarke saying it was “hopeless” to think Britain would stay in the EU.

— AFP