Last night’s
second reading of the Internal Market Bill passed with a comfortable 77 votes for the government. In truth, this was always going to happen. A second reading vote confirms merely the principle of a bill so the real question was over the size of any potential rebellion
rather than the future of the legislation itself.
The problem
comes next Tuesday when Bob Neill’s amendment is laid before the House. This would give MPs a vote on whether the UK chooses to break the Withdrawal Agreement when it comes to customs checks in the Irish Sea or state aid interventions for NI businesses.
In the
meantime, abstentions on the Bill do prove instructive when it comes to working out who might cause potential problems for the whips. Although it is worth noting that some of those missing from last night’s vote weren’t necessarily rebels, here is the list in full:
Sajid Javid – The former Chancellor tweeted out his reasoning for not backing the Internal Market Bill, stating that it was not necessary for the UK to break international law.
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