European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill — Clause 1 — Purpose of Delaying Withdrawal — Content of Bill to Implement Withdrawl Agreement — 4 Sep 2019 at 19:00

The majority of MPs voted against setting the purpose of delaying the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union as being to pass a bill implementing a withdrawal agreement which incorporates provisions on new arrangements for Northern Ireland, protecting worker's rights, environmental protections, free trade, proposing new customs arrangements, and ensuring MPs decide if to make the implementation of the withdrawal agreement subject to a referendum and decide on negotiating objectives for, and the final agreements on, the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

MPs were considering the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill^[1].

The amendment rejected in this vote was:

• Amendment 6, in clause 1, page 2, line 14, at end, insert
• “in order to debate and pass a Bill to implement the agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, including provisions reflecting the outcome of inter-party talks as announced by the Prime Minister on 21 May 2019, and in particular the need for the United Kingdom to secure changes to the political declaration to reflect the outcome of those inter-party talks.”

The rejected amendment was accompanied by the following explanatory statement:

• This amendment would set out as the purpose of seeking an extension under Article 50(3) TEU the passage of a Withdrawal Agreement Bill based on the outcome of the inter-party talks which concluded in May 2019 – see NC1 for contents of the Bill and Amendment XX for text of the request letter to the European Council.

The detail of the proposed Bill included in "NC1" (New Clause 1) was to include, according to the explanatory statement which accompanied it, ten headline points from the inter-party talks which concluded in May 2019. The contents of the Bill was set out as follows:

• (a) provision for the Government to seek to conclude alternative arrangements to replace the backstop by December 2020;
• (b) a commitment that, should the backstop come into force, the Government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland and to incorporate in United Kingdom law paragraph 50 of the 2017 joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union (TF50 (2017) 19);
• (c) provision for the negotiating objectives and final treaties for the United Kingdom’s future relationship with the European Union to be approved by the House of Commons;
• (d) legislation on workers’ rights to guarantee workers’ rights in the future in the United Kingdom will be no less favourable than comparable workers’ rights in the European Union;
• (e) provisions ensuring that there will be no change in the level of environmental protection applicable in the United Kingdom after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, and to establish an independent office of environmental protection, able to uphold standards and enforce compliance;
• (f) a requirement for the United Kingdom to seek as close to frictionless trade in goods with the European Union as possible, while outside the single market and ending free movement;
• (g) a requirement for the United Kingdom to keep up to date with European Union rules for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at the border in order to protect employment that depends on just-in-time supply chains;
• (h) a customs compromise for the House of Commons to decide upon;
• (i) an opportunity for a decision to be made by the House of Commons whether the implementation of the withdrawal agreement should be subject to a referendum; and
• (j) a duty for Ministers of the Crown to secure changes to the political declaration to reflect the provisions in this subsection.”

The "Form of letter from the Prime Minister to the President of the European Council" referred to was present in the proposed NS1 (New Schedule 1)^[3] and stated:

• Dear Mr President
• The UK Parliament has passed the European Union (Withdrawal) (No.2) Act 2019. Its provisions now require Her Majesty’s Government to notify the European Council that the notice of withdrawal by the UK from the European Union, given on 29 March 2017, is revoked.
• I am writing therefore to inform the European Council that I am revoking the notice of withdrawal by the UK from the European Union, given on 29 March 2017.
• Yours sincerely,
• Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The bill detail and the text of the letter while mentioned in the explanatory statement were not directly the subject of this vote.

Paragraph 50 of the 2017 joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union (TF50 (2017) 19) states:

• In the absence of agreed solutions, as set out in the previous paragraph,the United Kingdom will ensure that no new regulatory barriers develop between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, unless, consistent with the 1998 Agreement, the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly agree that distinct arrangements are appropriate for Northern Ireland. In all circumstances, the United Kingdom will continue to ensure the same unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the whole of the United Kingdom internal market.
• [1] Parliament's webpage on the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] Amendment sheet containing the rejected amendment and the new clause mentioned in the explanatory statement, Parliament.uk
• [3] Amendment sheet containing the amendment mentioned in the explanatory statement, Parliament.uk

Debate in Parliament |