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Yvette Cooper’s no-deal Brexit bill is being considered in the House of Lords after pro-Brexit peers failed in a “filibustering” attempt to “thwart” it.
The bill, which attempts to avoid no-deal by legally binding Prime Minister Theresa May into seeking an extension to Brexit beyond April 12, was subject to seven hours of procedural wrangling.
Peers delivered long speeches designed to eat up debating time and prevent the bill from completing the necessary stages in time, a process known as filibustering.
Although there is no fixed time-limit on the debate, those opposed to it were hoping that by dragging the discussion late into the night, the chamber would be forced to adjourn to Monday, endangering the already tight timetable to get it passed before next week’s emergency EU summit.
However, chief whip Lord Taylor of Holbeach announced a deal had been reached with Labour, meaning the bill was able to be considered in full at its second reading.
Pro-Brexit Tories were accused by the opposition of trying to “thwart” the will of the elected Commons, which passed the bill on Wednesday, by forcing a series of unsuccessful votes aimed at delaying the bill for greater scrutiny.
For the opposition, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town accused “a small group of unelected peers” of trying to stop the Lords from considering the bill and then “trying to talk it out” through the night.
Tory former Cabinet minister Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, opposing Labour’s move to complete consideration of the bill in one day, had said, to jeers: “This has got nothing to do with Brexit. This has to do with the procedures of the House.”
Lord Forsyth said he was surprised and disappointed to see Labour joining with “insurgents” in the Commons, who had sought to “undermine the process and procedures” of the House.
Meanwhile, talks between the government and Labour to break the Brexit logjam were “productive” and will continue on Friday, Downing Street said.
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn’s negotiating teams met for four-and-a-half hours in the Cabinet Office on Thursday for “detailed” talks.
The talks are aimed at finding a consensus Brexit position ahead of a crunch summit of European Union leaders in Brussels on April 10.
David Lidington, effectively the deputy prime minister, led the government’s negotiating team with Brexit secretary Steve Barclay, chief whip Julian Smith, business secretary Greg Clark and Theresa May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell.
On the other side of the table were shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey along with senior Labour officials.
A Downing Street spokesman said the “detailed and productive technical talks” were supported by civil servants.
“The government and the opposition hope to meet again tomorrow for further work to find a way forward to deliver on the referendum, mindful of the need to make progress ahead of the forthcoming European Council,” the spokesman said.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
