Government publishes Brexit bill

The government has published its 110-page bill to turn Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal into law.

MPs are facing three days of debate over the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) if they approve the intensive Commons timetable proposed by No 10.

Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said not backing the proposed schedule could stop the UK meeting the 31 October Brexit deadline.

But opposition MPs said there would not be enough time to scrutinise the bill.

Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, said: “Ministers are trying to bounce MPs into signing off a bill that could cause huge damage to our country. We can’t trust this prime minister.”

Mr Johnson agreed a deal with the EU last week, but it needs the approval of both the UK and EU parliaments to come into force.

The PM tried to get the deal signed off in the Commons on Saturday before moving onto consideration of the bill.

But instead, MPs backed an amendment withholding their approval until the WAB had faced the scrutiny of both the Commons and the Lords, and been passed into law.

Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal

KEY POINTS: What’s new in the deal?

PEOPLE’S VIEW: Do voters support the deal?

EXPLAINED: What is the Withdrawal Agreement Bill?

IN GRAPHICS: What happens now?

The amendment worked alongside the so-called Benn Act, which required the PM to ask the EU for an extension to the Halloween deadline to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Mr Johnson wrote an unsigned letter making the request on Saturday evening, along with a signed letter saying why he did not agree with any further delays.

But there has been no official word from the EU yet on whether they would grant a proposal or what length it would be.

BBC Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming said the European Parliament would only vote on the Brexit deal when it had reached a stage where it could not be modified any further at Westminster.

The government also tried to bring forward a “yes” or “no” vote on its Brexit deal on Monday, but Speaker John Bercow said it would be “repetitive and disorderly” to debate it again.

What is in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill?

The WAB will give legal effect to the withdrawal deal negotiated by Mr Johnson.

His plan ditches the backstop – the controversial “insurance policy” designed to prevent a return to physical checks on the Irish border.

Instead it essentially draws a new customs border in the Irish Sea, as goods which could travel onwards to Ireland will have to pay a duty tax.

It also will see the whole of the UK leave the EU customs union, meaning it could strike trade deals with other countries in the future.

The WAB will also turn any agreed transition period into law, fulfil requirements on the rights of EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, and allow ministers to make “divorce payments” to the EU foreseen under the current deal.

But MPs will be able to vote on amendments – changes or add-ons – to the bill.

If the government cannot get the bill through Parliament, the default legal position is for the UK to leave without a deal on 31 October, but that will change if the EU grants an extension.

I know reporters like me love prattling on about crunch points.

And I know there have been one or two instances of it being crunch point postponed.

But this really now is it for the government trying to deliver Boris Johnson’s proposed Brexit deal by 31 October.

The time frame is mega tight – passing a new law, through the Commons and Lords, by a week on Thursday.

Some want to crack on with it, some want to tweak it and some want to wreck it.

What happens in the next few days will determine whether the UK leaves the European Union a week on Thursday and in what way.

And it is likely to shape when the next general election is.

And, perhaps, who wins it.

Mr Rees-Mogg announced the so-called “programme motion” – outlining the timetable for debating and passing the WAB – on Monday.

He said if MPs backed it, it would allow the bill to be debated at second reading and committee stage on Tuesday, with further discussion on Wednesday, before concluding with a report stage and third reading on Thursday.

The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the government hoped to push the WAB through by getting MPs to sit until midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But MPs will have to vote to agree to that timetable on Tuesday before the second reading, and the bill would also need to be approved by the Lords before becoming law.

Labour’s shadow Commons leader, Valerie Vaz, criticised the proposal, telling MPs: “At every stage the government has been running scared of this House and democracy, and it’s now attempting to force through a flawed Brexit deal which sells out people’s jobs, rights and our communities.”

The SNP’s Pete Wishart also condemned a lack of economic impact assessments of the deal ahead of the attempt to pass the legislation.

“Three days to consider a bill [that] somebody suggested is 100 pages… how on earth are we going to have the chance to assess that properly?”

But Mr Rees-Mogg said other acts – including the Benn Act – had been brought and passed with short notice.

“A king emperor left in 24 hours, and we are removing an imperial yoke in over a week,” he added.

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