Theresa May faces 'Repeal Bill' battle in Parliament, Labour warns
As the opposition prepares to push for changes to the Brexit legislation, the PM also faces a potential backbench rebellion.
Sunday 3 September 2017 13:22, UK
Theresa May has been warned she faces a battle at Westminster over her Brexit legislation if she does not tackle concerns raised by Labour.
The first full parliamentary debate on the legislation, known as the Repeal Bill, is due to be held in the House of Commons on Thursday.
The Labour Party is expected to push for changes that would keep the UK in the single market and customs union during a transition period after Britain's membership in the bloc ends in March 2019.
Mrs May also faces a potential rebellion from Remain-supporting MPs within her own party, who might be tempted to back Labour.
Some MPs fear the legislation will give ministers sweeping new powers.
Labour's Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show his party would not give the Government a "blank cheque" and a failure to address concerns would see the opposition vote against the Bill.
He said: "Now we haven't reached that stage yet but I have been very, very clear - whilst we accept the result of the referendum we are not giving a blank cheque to the Government to do it in whichever way it wants because it is not in the public interest."
Labour last month announced a dramatic policy shift towards a soft Brexit, saying it backed continued membership of the EU single market beyond March 2019.
Sir Keir - who insisted the policy did not amount to a U-turn but a "development" - stressed the transition period should be "as short as possible", possibly two years.
He said Britain could attempt to be in a customs union with the EU, although he pointed out it could not be in the exisitng customs union as a non-EU member.
:: David Davis accuses EU of playing 'time against money'
Faced with a possible rebellion, Mrs May said the Bill was the best way to ensure Britain's successful exit from the EU.
"The Repeal Bill delivers the result of the referendum by ending the direct role of the EU in UK law, but it is also the single most important step we can take to prevent a cliff-edge for people and businesses, because it transfers laws and provides legal continuity," she said.
Damian Green, the First Secretary of State and Mrs May's de facto deputy, warned MPs from doing anything that would increase the chances of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gaining power.
However, a senior Remain supporting Conservative MP told Paste BN the threat was being played up.
"No Conservatives were going to rebel on the second reading," the MP said.
"No 10 has been briefing nonsense, and in the knowledge there would be no rebellion. We all told the whips we would support the second reading. This attempt to replicate House of Cards tactics is pathetic and is backfiring."
Some of the criticism, including from Tories, has focused on the so-called "Henry VIII" powers to change laws without full parliamentary scrutiny
But Mr Davis insisted major changes would be done through separate primary legislation, with the "Henry VIII" powers only used for technical measures.