House of Commons
Parliament

MPs vote 316 to 295 to reject a Labour amendment which would mean the exit day must not be before the end of any transitional period agreed under Article 50.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now voting on a Labour amendment which would mean the exit day must not be before the end of any transitional period agreed under Article 50.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs vote 316 to 296 to reject the SNP amendment seeking to ensure courts pay regard to ECJ decisions when interpreting retained EU law after Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now voting on an SNP amendment seeking to ensure courts and tribunals pay regard to European Court of Justice decisions when interpreting retained EU law after Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs vote 316 to 296 to reject Labour MP Chris Leslie's new clause requiring guidance on how the bill's legal provisions apply during a transition period.

House of Commons
Parliament

There's a short concluding speech from Justice Minister Dominic Raab, who says Clause 6 of the bill ensures we take control of our laws to aid a smooth Brexit with legal certainty.

But Labour MP Chris Leslie isn't reassured, and MPs divide to vote on his new clause requiring guidance on how the bill's legal provisions apply during a transition period.

This is the cover of tomorrow's Telegraph:

This is what two MPs said about it in the Commons tonight:

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Oliver Letwin calls Clause 6 on retained EU law "a frightful mess" and predicts the Lords will "massacre it - quite rightly" unless it is changed.

He is discussing his concerns when Solicitor General Robert Buckland intervenes to say it will put the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice on an equal footing.

Mr Letwin objects that one must trump the other, saying if the Supreme Court is meant to trump the ECJ "the bill should bloody well say so!"

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative chair of the Justice Committee, Bob Neill, says there are "a number of areas where the bill is lacking", and it does not provide certainty on how laws are to be interpreted.

"The guidance [in the bill] is not sufficient to meet the concerns of senior judiciary," he emphasises, citing recent select committee evidence given by former head of the Supreme Court Lord Neuberger.

He adds: "We ought to listen very carefully...when they look to Parliament to protect their independence."

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Iain Duncan Smith speaks against amendments brought forward to expand UK courts' power to refer to rulings by the European Court of Justice after Brexit.

He says the "most powerful reason" people voted for Brexit was "to take back control of our laws".

"That is the key element of anything to do with the referendum," he stresses, "and I want that to happen as we leave the EU".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The SNP's Joanna Cherry introduces an amendment that would ensure that, when interpreting retained EU law after exit, a court or tribunal pays regard to any relevant decision of the European Court of Justice.

"Retained EU law will still have to be interpreted by our courts, north and south of the border," she points out.

She says the bill as currently drafted gives judges "an extraordinary amount of discretion but no guidance", which fails to protect them from criticism for decisions they may make.

"Quite frankly, telephone calls aren't good enough," a former NI secretary of state says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Responding for the government, Justice Minister Dominic Raab tells MPs the bill will provide legal certainty.

"Once the UK leaves the EU, domestic courts will not be able to refer cases to the European Court," he continues, and this will be "an affirmation of the supremacy of our laws".

Answering concerns from chair of the Equalities Committee, Maria Miller, he announces the government is bringing in an amendment to require ministers to make a statement on how primary and secondary Brexit legislation relates to equality laws.

He explains that the government will specify how EU law applies in the transition period as part of the withdrawal agreement.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Brexit minister Paul Blomfield accuses the government of "failing to address the ambition in the Florence speech".

In that speech Theresa May said she wanted UK courts to take account of rulings by the European Court of Justice and hoped "on this basis, our teams can reach firm agreement quickly".

Mr Blomfield makes the case that exit day for the jurisdiction of the Court should come at the end of the transition period.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative Cheryl Gillan introduces a couple of amendments in her name, which would bind UK courts to European Court of Justice principles laid down or decisions after exit day if related to an act passed before exit day.

She puts forward her view that people have a legitimate expectation that they will be able to "rely on the law as it stood up until the point at which the law changed".

She describes this as a "serious" matter which the government must address.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Chris Leslie kicks off the second part of today's debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill, introducing his new clause which would require ministers to set out how provisions apply during a transition period, before the UK fully implements the withdrawal agreement.

He argues this is needed to address the question of how European law would be interpreted during the transition, warning that without it we won't have any certainty.

"These are issues that will hit consumers in the UK, workers in the UK," he tells MPs.

MPs are putting in the hours at Westminster, but will a key Brexit bill be over by Christmas?

MPs have just voted on the first set of amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill.

The amendment from Plaid Cymru's Hywel Williams to make the repeal of the 1972 Communities Act conditional on the government gaining consent from the devolved legislatures was defeated by 318 votes to 52.

MPs voted to keep Clause 1 of the bill by 318 votes to 68. Clause 1 is a single line saying that the European Communities Act 1972 will be repealed on exit day.

Labour MP Frank Field withdrew his amendment to set the date of Brexit in law - so it was not put to a vote.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs reject the amendment by 318 votes to 68, meaning clause one stays in the bill and the European Communities Act 1972 gets repealed on the day the UK leaves the EU.