House of Commons
Parliament

After the temporary Deputy Speaker Roger Gale wishes MPs a merry Christmas and peaceful New Year, we move onto the adjournment debate.

It has been tabled by Conservative MP Sir David Amess on one of his favourite subjects - the idea of granting Southend city status.

House of Commons
Parliament

The programme motion to carry the bill forward won by 353 votes to 243.

Thrilled Brexit-backing MPs have surrounded Boris Johnson in the Commons to get him to sign copies of their order papers to mark the day.

Reality Check

The new version of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill removes a clause, introduced by Lord Dubs, requiring the government to agree a deal that if an unaccompanied child claims international protection in the EU after Brexit, they may come to the UK if they have relatives living in the country.

The new bill only requires a government minister to make a statement setting out policy on the subject within two months.

As a member of the EU, the UK is bound by article eight of a regulation known as Dublin III to accept unaccompanied children in this way.

In 2016, 175 unaccompanied children came to the UK, external to join family members, in 2017 it was 92 and in 2018 it was 159.

The large margin of victory for the government was greeted by cheers on the Tory benches with one MP heard shouting "back of the net".

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now voting on the so-called programnme motion - the government's timetable to pass the bill through its final stages.

After such a significant win over the Withdrawal Bill, it seems likely this will pass too.

House of Commons
Parliament

The government has won backing for its EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill by 358 votes to 234, a majority of 124.

While we're awaiting the outcome of the vote, here's a lighter moment.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has had a special visitor. As we know from the election campaign, dogs do seem to be the Tories' best friends...

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now voting on the second reading of the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill.

Remember though, Boris Johnson has a majority of 80, so it is expected to pass.

However, it will still have further hurdles to cross in the New Year before becoming law.

We expect a result in around 10 minutes time.

House of Commons
Parliament

Mr Barclay is listing the attributes of the bill, saying it brings certainty to EU nationals living in the UK and British expats on the continent.

He says it restores the UK's sovereignty, on taxation and fishing, and ends the situation where the UK is "outsourcing decisions to others".

On policy, he says it will give the UK the power to determine economic and social rights - and potentially improve on existing minimum standards.

He rejects claims that ruling out any further extension to the transition period is "ridiculous" - saying many within Labour don't want Brexit at all.

He concludes by saying that the bill will deliver on the "biggest democratic vote" in UK history - the 2016 referendum - and the defining issue of the general election.

"It is time to end the delay, come together, heal our divisions and, above all, listen to the people we serve".

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Parliament

Brexit Secretetary Steve Barclay is summing up for the government.

In what sounds like a Freudian slip, he appears to refer to his opposite number Sir Keir Starmer as the "member for Holborn and St Pancreas".

Moving on, he says the public has given the Commons a "clear instruction".

But he argues the bill does not mark "a victory for one side or the other", insisting it is time to stop using those old labels.

He pays tribute to various members for their speeches during the debate, highlighting among others Labour's Emma Lewell-Buck, who is backing the bill.

House of Commons
Parliament

Sir Keir Starmer says Labour may have lost the election, but they have "not lost our values and our beliefs".

He adds: "We must fight for them, day in day out, in this Parliament, and we will."

He accepts the result means the UK will definitely be leaving the EU, but criticises a number of elements of Boris Johnson's deal, including the ban to an extension to the transition period and the removal of workers' rights protections.

Sir Keir says: "This started life as a bad bill, it is now even worse. The changes the government has made weakens workers rights, sidelines Parliament and weakens the protections of child refugees.

"It tells you everything you need to know about this prime minister and the government, about their priorities and values."

The government's own impact assessment of the Brexit legislation says businesses sending goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland "will face extra costs", says BBC Newsnight's political editor Nicholas Watt.

He highlighted the text on Twitter, saying it was spotted by Labour MP Stephen Timms.