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Conservative MPs fired a warning shot at Boris Johnson’s conduct of the Brexit process on Monday night, when former cabinet ministers and attorneys general denied their support for a controversial bill that will violate international law.
A government source said Attorney General Robert Buckland was “reeling” and had called for additional cabinet scrutiny of a controversial clause in the bill.
Among those who refused to support the bill on Monday were a host of high-ranking conservatives, select committee chairs, and quality assurance, most notably former Chancellor Sajid Javid and former attorneys general Sir Geoffrey Cox and Jeremy Wright. . Others who abstained were Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Conservative Deputies Committee, Liam Fox and Theresa May, although in some cases it was unclear whether the people were absent on parliamentary business. May was in South Korea at a planned invitation to the World Knowledge Forum, but has made it clear that she was not happy with the implications of the bill. In all, 30 Conservative MPs abstained and two, Sir Roger Gale and Andrew Percy, voted against.
However, Johnson’s sizable majority meant that the UK’s domestic market bill passed with a comfortable cushion of 77 votes Monday night, by 340 votes to 263. The real showdown now will be the vote of the next week on an amendment from Bob Neill, the Conservative president. of the justice selection committee.
Parliamentarians had urged the government to accept that amendment, rather than go ahead with the internal market bill that violates part of the Northern Ireland protocol as set out in the withdrawal agreement signed with the EU.
After the vote, Gale said: “I firmly believe that we must obey international law. I think the UK’s word is their link and I think this is damaging our international reputation for honesty and openness. “
He added there was “a lot to play for” when the House of Commons considers amendments to the bill next week.
Select committee chairs Neill, Simon Hoare and Tobias Ellwood abstained. Several former lawyers also did not endorse the bill, including MPs Rehman Chishti, who resigned as special envoy, and Gary Streeter.
Buckland, who voted in favor of the bill, was said to be particularly concerned about clause 45. It states that regulations made by ministers under the legislation cannot be considered incompatible with international law. It appears to be an attempt by Downing Street to avoid future legal challenges.
All five living former prime ministers had raised concerns about the bill, as well as former Conservative leaders William Hague and Michael Howard.
Charles Walker, vice chairman of the 1922 Committee abstained and suggested that the rebellion that was brewing, even if it did not end the bill, was the result of growing tension within the party, not only because of the violation of international law but also due to coronavirus restrictions. he called both “profoundly non-conservative.”
“I am not voting for this bill. Because if you keep hitting a dog, don’t be surprised when it bites you, ”he said. “We are all members of parliament and we deserve to be taken seriously.”
Some MPs were told that the threat to remove the conservative whip had not been ruled out if they rebelled.
In a nod to some angry MPs, Johnson said he would never invoke the controversial powers in the internal market bill if a Brexit trade deal were reached with the EU. He said the United Kingdom “will simultaneously seek all possible remedies under international law, as provided in the [Northern Ireland] protocol ”- a measure suggested by Cox.
Opening the debate in the Commons, the Prime Minister stated that the EU was prepared to “use the Northern Ireland protocol in a way that goes beyond common sense, simply to exert influence against the United Kingdom in our negotiations for a Free trade agreement”.
Johnson said the measures in the bill, which would give ministers unilateral powers in key areas that have not yet been agreed with the EU, violating the terms of the treaty agreed in January, were “a protection, it is a safety net. It is political insurance, and it is a very sensible measure ”.
He said threats from the EU, which the bloc has denied, made the legislation necessary, claiming the bloc could prevent Britain’s food exports to Northern Ireland.
That statement drew disbelief from shadow business secretary Ed Miliband, who answered for the Labor Party. He said the bill did “precisely nothing” to address that problem, mockingly offering to make way for Johnson in the Commons if he had found something in the bill that addressed the “alleged threat.”
“He didn’t read the protocol, he didn’t read the bill,” Miliband said. “What incompetence, what government failure, and how dare you try to blame everyone else? This is his deal, this is his mess, this is his failure. “
Javid, who resigned from the cabinet earlier this year, said it was unclear why international law had to be violated and that he “regrettably could not support the UK internal market bill” without amendment. He added that the UK should wait until it is clear that the EU intends to act in bad faith and until then use the safeguards already enshrined in the withdrawal agreement.
Neill, another former attorney, introduced an amendment next week and it is gaining support. It would require parliamentary approval before the government could make a future decision not to apply the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol in the withdrawal agreement.
A senior backbencher accused the whips of scare tactics before the vote. “Unfortunately, this is being framed as pro or against Brexit again, even if you are a patriot,” the MP said. “Cox’s intervention should prevent me from descending into those shallow waters.
“Now they are relying heavily on loyalty to the prime minister, and there are a lot of people who want to get back into government and they will be tested today, no question.”
There is consternation even among loyal conservatives and veterans planning to back the government. A former cabinet minister said they would only back the bill “through clenched teeth.”
On Monday, David Cameron said: “Passing an act of parliament and then breaking an international treaty obligation is the last thing you should contemplate. It should be an absolute final resource. So I have doubts about what is being proposed. “
Former Labor Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair and former Conservative Prime Minister John Major said the bill put the UK’s international obligation at risk.
