Brexit: MPs back Internal Market Bill to override parts of EU Brexit agreement

A proposed law which would allow the government to override parts of the Brexit agreement with the EU has passed its first hurdle in the House of Commons.

MPs – including the Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton, Chris Clarkson – backed the Internal Market Bill by 340 votes to 263.

Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd was one of those who voted against the bill.

The Internal Market Bill has been proposed as a new legal framework to prevent new intra-UK trade barriers from emerging at the end of the transition period. When the UK leaves the EU single market on 1 January 2021, EU rules for free trade in goods and services between the home nations will no longer be in effect.

Controversially, the bill would give the government power to change aspects of the EU withdrawal agreement, a legally-binding deal of the terms for the UK’s exit from the EU, agreed earlier this year.

Rules and regulations set in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland could create new barriers to trade between different parts of the UK, unnecessary red tape for business and additional costs for consumers – meaning there could be difficulty in goods and services flowing between the nations.

Combined total sales from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to the rest of the United Kingdom were worth over £90 billion in 2018, according to the government, which says the UK Internal Market Bill will 'guarantee companies can trade unhindered' and will 'ensure continued prosperity of people and business in the UK, whilst maintaining our world-leading high standards for consumers, workers, food, animal welfare and the environment'.

It adds that the proposed bill will create an 'open, fair, and competitive market across the United Kingdom'.

 

 

Speaking before the vote, Mr Clarkson, Conservative MP, said: “This week, I will be supporting the Internal Market Bill to deliver Brexit, protect our union and ensure Northern Ireland is treated equally as we leave the EU.

“Across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, over 60 per cent of people voted for Brexit and I do not believe they voted this way to continue being subjected to EU laws and regulations or to surrender control over British waters, which the EU is currently demanding.

“The EU is now using the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was designed to make sure that the UK’s exit from the EU was compatible with the Good Friday Agreement, to threaten to block the transfer of food between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. I could never support this situation as it would undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom.

“Our refusal to give in to these demands is why our government is now introducing the Internal Market Bill, which will guarantee UK companies the ability to trade unhindered in every part of the United Kingdom as well as ensure the continued prosperity of people and businesses across our four nations.

“The EU’s current negotiating stance is based on their fear that further countries, where strong leave movements are growing, might want to leave the bloc and therefore they are seeking to bully the UK to make their point.

“The United Kingdom Internal Market Bill will ensure that the government is able to protect communities and the peace process in Northern Ireland from damaging default rules that neither the UK nor the EU should ever intend to use.”

However, critics – including Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd – have warned that the bill breaches international law by contradicting the withdrawal agreement.

Mr Clarkson added: “There are some that say this bill breaks international law. This is debatable at best - the government will be pursuing this legislation through Parliament, as it would with any other piece of legislation, using the Withdrawal Agreement which recognises that Parliament, rightly, has the final say on our laws.

“I believe that this bill will not prevent the government from complying with requirements in the Northern Ireland Protocol. It simply ensures that ministers have the power to implement the Protocol in a way that does not compromise the Good Friday Agreement, which is also part of international law. 

“This legislation will have my support as it helps keep the promise I made to the people of Heywood and Middleton at the last election to abide by the decision made by the British people to leave the European Union.”

 

 

Labour MP Mr Lloyd, one of the 263 to vote against the bill, said: “This bill is grossly unacceptable for those who believe in the rule of law.

“We cannot say to other countries, such as Russia, that they must obey international law, but then say we don’t have to. Memories of the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury should remind us why we do really need international law. But equally importantly, as the UK seeks new trade deals around the world, how do we possibly persuade would-be trading partners that we are trustworthy negotiators if we are prepared to do a deal in January of the year, to break it in September. This is no way to persuade America, among other countries, to trade with us. Our word is our bond as a nation. I would prefer to live in a country where we say that and continue to say that.

“For that reason, this bill is shameful and should not pass in its present form.”

The bill was largely backed by the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), although two Conservative MPs did vote against it, and a further 30 abstained, suggesting there may be further rebellion as the legislation is scrutinised in forthcoming weeks.

The Commons also voted against a Labour amendment to reject the bill entirely, by 349 votes to 213.