The government has successfully defeated the two Lords amendments to its Article 50 bill. MPs voted down the first amendment, committing the government to guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals, by a majority of 48 — which means the government managed to increase its majority of 42 from the first vote. On the ‘meaningful vote’ amendment, this was defeated by 331 to 286.
The clean bill will now return to the Lords where it is expected to pass tonight with no further amendments — after Baroness Smith, the shadow leader of the Lords, promised there would be no protracted game of ping pong. The fact that the meaningful vote amendment was defeated by such a comfortable margin ought to put any would-be rebels off trying to put it back in.
Should the bill pass tonight, May will have the rest of the month to decide when to trigger Article 50. There had been talk that the government (keen to move on from the Budget omNICshambles) could push the button this week.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in