House of Lords
Parliament

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Plaid Cymru's Lord Wigley accuses the government of "steamrolling" the bill through by relying on a whipped vote.

He says this is a matter of conviction and he adds that "convictions don't change because of a whipped vote in the other place".

The Brexit secretary watches on... 

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Article 50 must be triggered, begins Crossbencher Lord Brown of Eaton-Under-Heywood "sooner rather than later".

However he says he supports the Lib Dem's Amendment (A1) which insists on the House of Lords amendment on EU nationals.

He worries that EU citizens who work in sectors such as the NHS or academia "are starting to bleed away" because of uncertainty.

He adds that UK citizens living in the EU believe their position will be strengthened if the UK makes "a generous gesture, freely given". 

Is it really exceptional to keep a ping pong rally going on longer than two strokes? he concludes.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

The Lib Dem's Lord Oates urges peers to insist on their amendments.

"It is about people’s lives," he says.

He notes that the House of Lords has previously voted to send bills back to the Commons on issues where "far less was at stake".

How can this House give up on the first attempt? he asks.

House of Lords
Parliament

Brexit Minister Lord Brdiges begins the debate.

He says that peers agree that "we all want to give EU nationals certainty". The disagreement he says is "about how we do that".

He tells peers that MPs have rejected the House of Lords amendment on EU nationals by a majority of 48.

This evening is not the time and place to return to the fray, he says, and urges peers to accept the bill as it is.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Just a short time ago, MPs rejected the Lords' amendments to the bill triggering Article 50.

The first amendment sought to guarantee the residence rights of EU citizens living in the UK, the second gave Parliament a vote on any exit deal struck with the EU.

Peers now have the opportunity to either agree to the bill unamended or propose alternative amendments.

House of Commons
Parliament

The SNP's Kirsty Blackman tells MPs that the government is taking us towards "broken Brexit Britain". 

In particular, she says, "ordinary working people have not been supported" and the Budget does not deal with "the real fallout from Brexit". 

She argues part of the problem is that Conservatives don't understand the problems faced by "ordinary people" such as rising inflation. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Government spokesman Lord Young argues that Prevent is proving effective, and that conducting a review would halt its momentum.

Lord Dubs says that Prevent is contentious, and suggests that the government will have to return to review it at some point.

Nevertheless, he withdraws his amendment. 

The House of Lords now adjourn for half an hour. They will return at 8:15pm to consider the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry opens Labour's response on international affairs and the Budget by asking her opposite number to proceed "without waffle or delay or more charm than he considers absolutely necessary", which seems to tickle him. 

But she says "we need more than warm words" in order to resource the government's commitment to an outward-looking Britain.  

House of Lords
Parliament

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The next amendment comes from Lord Dubs who wants to see an independent review of the Prevent strategy in higher education institutions.

"I'm not arguing it should be scrapped," he says. "I'm arguing that we should know more about it."

Prevent is part of the government's anti-terrorism strategy. It places a duty on higher education institutions to stop people from being drawn into terrorism. 

The duty includes providing effective welfare support systems and ensuring that concerns about students are acted on. 

House of Commons
Parliament

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Talking about Britain's international outlook, the foreign secretary says a new royal yacht would "add greatly to our soft power". 

He repeats the assurance that the government could back proposals for a new yacht if private financial backing can be found. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Government spokesman Lord Young seeks to assure peers that the government is seeking to tackle this problem through a "co-ordinated sector led initiative". 

He suggests that introducing an offence may be appropriate in the future.

However he says today's amendment is unclear, arguing that it could lead to the prosecution of study guides. 

Lord Storey withdraws his amendment.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Lib Dem Lord Storey  speaks to his amendment which would make it an offence to provide or advertise cheating services or "contract cheating" as he describes it.

He expands on this definition as the situation when a student pays a third party to write an essay on their behalf.

Seventeen thousand students get caught cheating each year he says, adding that "those are the only ones who were caught".

Labour's Lord Watson of Invergowrie agrees that legislation is required. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Speaking for the government, Viscount Leckie suggests that the amendment will place an unrealistic and ambiguous burden on providers.

He expresses concern that the amendment could require universities to place its duty on freedom of speech over its duty to ensure the safety of event attendees.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HOL

Crossbencher Baroness Deech now speaks to her amendment which would ensure that higher education providers "must ensure that their students, staff and invited speakers are able to practise freedom of speech".

She cites examples of people being censored including a Muslim woman calling for "reform of religion", the "playful" adoption of foreign cuisine and mentions of transgender people. 

"This has been going on for years," she says, adding that many in the academic world are relieved that this trend of intolerance is now getting "the attention and disapprobation that is necessary". 

Radio 4 PM

Gina Miller, the lawyer who took the government to the Supreme Court to give MPs a vote on Brexit, has been interviewed on Radio 4's PM.

Ms Miller said there is "an awful lot of bullying" in Parliament, which meant MPs couldn't "do their job properly" and "vote with their conscience" on the Brexit bill. She said that MPs should have been allowed to vote in secret. 

Ms Miller told Eddie Mair that she was disappointed that MPs "haven't asked enough questions" or sought the opinion of their constituents on "what kind of Brexit they want".  

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reopens the debate on the Spring Budget debate which he says will "sustain the momentum" of the UK's economy. 

He says it is a budget for a "global Britain" and lauds its emphasis on infrastructure.

He says this will allow the UK to set an example to European partners by ensuring 2% spending on defence, as required by NATO rules. 

Mr Johnson notes he is the first foreign secretary to open a budget debate in ten years. 

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs now return to their debate on last week's Budget. 

Among the announcements from the chancellor were: 

• The main rate of Class 4 National Insurance  contributions for the self-employed to increase from 9% to 10% in April 2018 and 11% in April 2019
• £435m for firms affected by increases in business rates, including £300m hardship fund for worst hit
• UK second-fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2016
• Annual borrowing £51.7bn in 2016-17, £16.4bn lower than forecast
• No increases in alcohol or tobacco duties on top of those previously announced.