Boris Johnson is facing a heavy defeat in the House of Lords this week on controversial Brexit legislation that will break international law, setting him on course for a clash with US president-elect Joe Biden.
Peers on Monday will vote to remove clauses from the controversial Internal Market Bill that the government has admitted could break its commitments in the Brexit withdrawal agreement in a “very specific and limited way”.
While ministers have argued the legislation is vital for securing trade within the UK, opponents have said it risks violating the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended conflict on the island of Ireland — something Mr Biden has expressed deep concern about.
The bill has been met with widespread condemnation from the EU and Britain’s allies, as well as Conservative peers — including former Tory party leader Michael Howard who is expected to vote against the legislation. Last month, peers defeated the government with a majority of 226 expressing “regret” at the bill.
Parliamentary officials predicted the government will “lose heavily tomorrow [Monday] unless they come up with something to take the sting out of the debate.” But one individual said it was “highly unlikely” the government would drop the clauses on Monday.
Mr Biden criticised the internal market legislation in September, stating that the Good Friday peace agreement cannot “become a casualty of Brexit”. The president-elect is expected to stress this point again during his first call with the UK prime minister.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Sunday that the UK will not breach the historic agreement, adding that he has reassured senior figures in the Democratic party.
“We’ve been very clear we are absolutely committed to respecting the Good Friday Agreement but our argument is, and it was good to have the opportunity when I was in Washington to explain, it is the EU who has put pressure on that with the approach it has taken,” he told the BBC.
Charlie Falconer, Labour’s shadow attorney-general, said it was “not too late” for the government to “get back on the side of the law before even more damage to our country’s reputation is done”.
“We always said the UK would pay a terrible price of breaking with the rule of law, and now, almost immediately after we can see that price being paid with the government’s actions being called out by the United States government,” he said.
The Internal Market legislation will return to the House of Commons in early December, when Mr Johnson will have to decide whether to insert the controversial clauses back in the bill.
Senior figures in Westminster believe that the combined pressure of Mr Biden and the “cover of a Brexit deal” will be used to leave the legislation unamended. Intense negotiations with the EU begin again on Monday, with insiders believing “the next 10 days will be crucial” for a trade agreement.
One parliamentary official noted that “by early December, the context could have changed somewhat. It’s a political judgment for No 10 to make”.
However, government insiders said it was “unlikely” that the contentious clauses would be left out of the bill. One minister said: “the pro-union clauses in the IM Bill are popular with the backbenches. To remove those clauses would risk causing great upset, particularly among those who vigorously defended the bill in the first place.”
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson welcomed Mr Biden’s victory and said the UK and US can work closely together on climate change, free speech and promoting democracy — despite their differences over Brexit.
“There is far more that unites the government of this country and government in Washington any time, any stage, than divides us. We have common values. We have common interests. We have a common global perspective,” the prime minister said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50Lzg3NGVmN2I2LTkxZjktNGY1ZS1iMmFlLTVhM2RlZjY4ZTI1MNIBP2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50Lzg3NGVmN2I2LTkxZjktNGY1ZS1iMmFlLTVhM2RlZjY4ZTI1MA?oc=5
2020-11-08 17:54:00Z
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