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3 February 2017
Client Alert | EU | UK | Brexit
On Wednesday 1st February, the House of Commons voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill (the Bill) by a majority of 498 to 114. Conservative MPs voted in favour, with one exception: Kenneth Clarke, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary under three Conservative Prime Ministers. The leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, had ordered a three line whip requiring all Labour MPs to vote in favour of the bill; in the event 43 Labour MPs (including some shadow ministers) defied the whip and voted against the bill. All the Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party MPs voted against the bill. Next week there will be three days of debate of the numerous amendments that have been proposed before a second vote. After that the Bill will go to the House of Lords where it will be subject to a similar process of votes and debate, expected to begin on 20 February. The Prime Minister would appear to be on track to keep her promise to trigger Article 50 by the end of March. Indeed there is some speculation that she will do so well before that deadline, on 8 March, just ahead of the EU Council meeting scheduled for 9 March.
Yesterday the Government issued a White Paper on Brexit, entitled 'The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union'. White Papers are policy documents produced by the Government that set out their proposals for future legislation and provide a basis for further consultation and discussion with interested or affected groups before legislative steps are taken. The Government had previously resisted demands for a White Paper on Brexit, claiming that it would be self-defeating to reveal the UK's negotiating position in advance of the commencement of the talks. After Mrs May's speech at Lancaster House on 17 January (the Lancaster House speech), the Government continued to resist calls for a White Paper, on the grounds that the speech provided as much information as Parliament needed. Finally, in his response to the Supreme Court judgement on the Miller Case on 24 January, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, committed the Government to producing a White Paper, which it has now done, although the fact that the first round of voting on the Bill had taken place before its publication is unusual and has attracted a great deal of criticism.
In fact there is very little new in the White Paper, which is best seen as an expansion of the 12 objectives first set out in Lancaster House speech.
Please click on the PDF below to find out more about the most significant of these.
