{"id":92352,"date":"2020-09-16T09:59:25","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T01:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=92352"},"modified":"2020-09-16T09:59:27","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T01:59:27","slug":"british-mps-back-brexit-bill-despite-eu-anger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=92352","title":{"rendered":"British MPs back Brexit bill despite EU anger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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LONDON, Sept 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British lawmakers backed a new bill that would override parts of the Brexit treaty struck with the European Union last year, despite outrage in Brussels and alarm at home over such an overt breach of international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MPs in the House of Commons gave their initial approval to the UK Internal Market Bill by 340 votes to 263, clearing the way for four days of detailed scrutiny of the text this week and next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier argued the legislation was a \u201csafety net\u201d against what he claimed were EU threats to impose tariffs on UK internal trade and even stop food going from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But EU leaders have dismissed this as \u201cspin\u201d and warned Johnson to uphold commitments he himself made in the Brexit treaty last year \u2014 demanding he withdraw the offending parts of the new bill by the end of September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The row threatens to disrupt already tough post-Brexit trade negotiations, fuelling growing fears of failure that would see more than four decades of EU-UK integration come to a crashing halt at the end of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation also sparked angry debate in London, reminiscent of the years of bitter political battles that followed the 2016 shock referendum vote to leave the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several of Johnson\u2019s own Conservative MPs expressed alarm about breaking international law, with ex-finance minister Sajid Javid and former attorney general Geoffrey Cox among those saying beforehand that they would not back the bill as it stood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every living former prime minister \u2014 Conservatives John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May and Labour\u2019s Tony Blair and Gordon Brown \u2014 also warned of the risk to Britain\u2019s global reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain left the EU in January but remains bound by the rules of the 27-member bloc until a transition period ends on December 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson says the UK Internal Market Bill will ensure \u201cunfettered access\u201d for trade after that within the UK\u2019s four nations \u2014 Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the legislation would see London unilaterally regulate UK trade and state aid within Northern Ireland \u2014 in violation of the Brexit treaty, that demands Brussels have a say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern Ireland will uniquely remain subject to some EU rules after Brexit to ensure a free-flowing border with the Republic of Ireland \u2014 a crucial part of the 1998 peace accords that ended decades of sectarian violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Johnson claimed the EU was ready to go to \u201cextreme and unreasonable lengths\u201d and to use these arrangements to \u201cexert leverage\u201d in the trade negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He acknowledged some personal \u201cunease\u201d at giving ministers powers to override the Brexit treaty but said they would not be needed if a trade deal was agreed as hoped with Brussels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we cannot do now is tolerate a situation where our EU counterparts seriously believe that they have the power to break up our country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat illusion must be decently despatched.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK parliament spent years arguing over how to leave the EU \u2014 much of it arguing over arrangements for Northern Ireland \u2014 and delayed its exit date three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson temporarily halted the deadlock by sealing a divorce deal with Brussels late last year, which he used to win a thumping 80-seat victory in a December general election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downing Street last week claimed the Brexit deal was agreed \u201cat pace\u201d and the problems with the aspects of the treaty regarding Northern Ireland were unforeseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But opposition Labour spokesman Ed Miliband ridiculed this suggestion, saying: \u201cEither he wasn\u2019t straight with the country about the deal in the first place or he didn\u2019t understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cThis is his deal. It\u2019s his mess. It\u2019s his failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Johnson\u2019s special envoys, MP Rehman Chishti, earlier quit over the bill \u2014 and more trouble could be ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although MPs on Monday defeated a Labour attempt to try to kill the bill, amendments have already been proposed for debate during four days of detailed scrutiny starting Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One from senior Conservative MP Bob Neill has attracted some support, and would give parliament, not ministers, the power to decide whether to overrule the Brexit treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even some Brexit-backing Tories are unhappy, with one, Charles Walker, saying: \u201cI\u2019m no fan of the EU\u2026 but surely we have to exhaust all other options before we press the nuclear button.\u201d — NNN-AGENCIES
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LONDON, Sept 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British lawmakers backed a new bill that would override parts of the Brexit treaty struck with the European Union last year, despite outrage in Brussels and alarm at home over such an overt breach of international law. MPs in the House of Commons gave their initial approval to the UK […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":92353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[209],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92352"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/92353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}