Brexit bill allowing Britain to exit EU on 31 January passes Commons

The government bill paving the way for the UK’s exit from the European Union on 31 January has completed its passage through the House of Commons, amid warnings that it may lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

The EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed its third reading in the Commons by 330 votes to 231 – a government majority of 99.

The bill now goes to the House of Lords on Monday and is expected to reach the statute book in time for Boris Johnson to hit his target of delivering Brexit by the end of this month.

No non-Conservative MPs voted for the bill, with 167 out of the 202 Labour MPs – including all six contenders for the party leadership – voting against, along with 45 of the Scottish National Party’s 47 MPs and all 11 Liberal Democrats. The DUP’s eight MPs – who object to the prime minister’s plans for a customs border in the Irish Sea – did not vote.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader in Westminster, said the bill had created a ”constitutional crisis” which would bring nearer a referendum on Scottish independence and the break-up of the UK, while Labour Brexit spokesman Paul Blomfield warned that ministers would have to proceed with “senstivity and caution” to avoid endangering the union.

Mr Blomfield warned that the UK’s departure from the EU’s political structures on 31 January would not mean that Mr Johnson had “got Brexit done”.

“We’ll have completed the first step – departure – but the difficult stage is yet to come,” he told MPs.

Mr Johnson’s election victory did not give him a mandate to “bulldoze through” his version of Brexit, said the Labour frontbencher, adding: “The next few months need to be approached with sensitivity and with caution if we are to stay together as a United Kingdom.”

Mr Blackford was jeered by Tory MPs as he told the Commons after the vote: “We do not consent under any circumstances to the people of Scotland and our country being taken out of the European Union against our will. Let’s make no mistake – that’s exactly what is happening.”

To shouts of “sit down” from the Tory benches, he added: “Yesterday, the Scottish parliament voted overwhelmingly not to give its consent. This is a constitutional crisis because we will not and we cannot accept what is being done to us.

“I say to the prime minister … respect the right of the Scottish people to choose our future. We will have our referendum and Scotland will remain an independent European country.”

An SNP amendment urging MPs to vote down the legislation because the Scottish parliament has withheld its consent was defeated by 329 votes to 62.

Brexit secretary Steve Barclay warned peers not to hold up the bill, saying: “I anticipate constructive scrutiny as we would expect in the other place, but I have no doubt that their lordships will have heard the resounding message from the British people on 12 December.

“And they will have seen the clear will of this House as expressed by the sizeable majorities in the committee votes.”

Tory chairman James Cleverly said the Conservatives had reinstalled their Brexit countdown clock, posting a picture on social media of it standing at 22 days, 5 hours and 9 minutes with the message: “Look what’s back.”

But pro-EU Labour MP David Lammy voiced dismay at the passage of the bill: “The consequences are that thousands of jobs will be lost, young people will lose the right to live and work freely in 27 EU countries, our rights and freedoms will be eroded, and our NHS is at risk. All we will get in return is a third-rate trade deal with Donald Trump.”

Armed with an 80-strong majority following last month’s general election, Mr Johnson decided to fast-track the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) through its remaining stages in the Commons in just three days, where it has faced little substantial opposition.

However, it could face a rougher ride from pro-European peers, who are scheduled to debate it over seven days.

The prime minister’s decision to strip out commitments in the bill to allow child refugees to reunite with their families has been branded disgraceful by opposition MPs, and is likely to prove a crunch point for peers.

Labour peer Alf Dubs, who fled the Nazis on the Kindertransport when he was six years old, had urged Tory MPs to back efforts to reinstate the protections in the Brexit legislation. However, the attempt was heavily defeated in the Commons on Wednesday.

The bill’s smooth passage comes in stark contrast to the trials Theresa May endured during her premiership.

Rebel Tories joined forces with opposition MPs to reject Ms May’s deal by 230 votes in January 2019 – the worst government defeat in history – before inflicting two further defeats on the beleaguered prime minister.

Ms May was then forced to ask the EU to delay Brexit beyond 29 March, sowing the seeds for her resignation in the summer.

Mr Johnson secured the support of hardline Brexiteers by removing the controversial Irish backstop from Ms May’s deal, and later redrafted the WAB to strip out parliamentary oversight on trade negotiations, protections for workers and the commitments to child refugees. Downing Street insists these matters will be dealt with in separate legislation.

The PM was in the Commons to vote for the bill, but did not speak.

His official spokesman said: “The prime minister obviously made it a priority after winning a majority to get Brexit done and to move the country forward, and securing the legislation’s passage through the Commons is a significant positive step for delivering on that.”

The bill also enshrines in law the prime minister’s pledge against extending the transition period beyond December 2020. This new deadline increases the risk of a no-deal Brexit, as it leaves Mr Johnson only 11 months to negotiate a trade deal with Brussels.

Ursula von der Leyen, the new European Commission president, said the timetable to get a trade deal agreed and ratified by the end of the year was “very, very tight”.