House of Commons vote: controversial Brexit law moves forward

reThe rebellion has not materialized: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s controversial internal market law has cleared another hurdle in the London Parliament. Johnson wants to use the law to partially nullify the current and painstakingly negotiated Brexit deal with the EU. Most MPs approved a compromise between the prime minister and his critics in London on Tuesday, so there was no longer a formal vote on his request.

Several Conservative MPs who had previously spoken out against Johnson’s plans also agreed with this. The head of government had already taken a step towards the dissidents and assured them of a new vote in parliament in case the measures provided for in the law for an emergency were actually used, in essence, what the rebels had requested.

However, the compromise does not mean that there is now unity in the House of Commons. “I cannot support this law,” former Prime Minister Theresa May said in the House of Commons on Monday. The government is putting “the integrity of the UK” at risk, without considering the consequences for the country’s reputation in the world. The opposition lashed out at the government on Tuesday as “legislative hooligans.”

For the EU, Johnson’s move is a violation of the law

Specifically, the law deals with special rules for British Northern Ireland, which are intended to avoid a hard border with the EU state, Ireland, and further hostilities there. For the EU, Johnson’s move is a violation of the law. Brussels therefore asked London to surrender at the end of September.

After MPs in the House of Commons already voted in favor of the law last week and the compromise has already been approved, the final decision is still pending: in the next week, the law will take another turn in the House of Commons. Common then the House of Lords will debate it. If the amendments come from there, it could even end up in the House of Commons again, a game of ping-pong that could take weeks.