The headline of yesterday’s vote on the Brexit Bill in the House of Lords is that the Government lost by a majority of 98, but May is likely to put the pressure back on Corbyn when the Bill goes back to the Commons.

Last night 366 to 268 peers backed an amendment to the Brexit Bill that requires the Government to secure parliamentary approval of the agreement struck with the EU.  This included 13 Conservative peers, led by Lord Heseltine, who has since been sacked from his five government advisory positions. 

Within the amendment, it is not the vote itself but its timing that is the critical point.  The amendment says that both Houses of Parliament must give their approval before the European Parliament debates and votes on the agreement. In essence, the House of Lords is saying that a final deal cannot be struck by the Government without the say so of Parliament and if Parliament rejects what has been negotiated by the Government, the Prime Minister and her ministerial team must go back to the negotiating table.

The Government insists that the amendment should not pass for two reasons.  First, Theresa May has said she will give Parliament a ‘meaningful vote’ and it is not necessary to put this into statute – the word of the Prime Minister should be enough.  Second, the ‘meaningful vote’ should be a choice between accepting or rejecting the deal brokered by the Government with the EU – Parliament should not be able to send the Government back into negotiations as this would undermine the UK’s negotiating stance from the beginning.

This is a crucial hurdle that the Government feels it must clear in order to remain on track with its timetable to conclude negotiations to leave the EU within the two years that will start ticking down as soon as Article 50 is triggered. 

The Bill now heads back into the Commons for ping pong – the stage when a Bill goes back and forth between both Houses until they can reach an agreement.  It’s reported that around 20 Conservative MPs are considering supporting the Lords and with a working majority of 17, this could prove problematic for the Government.  The Government can expect support from the eight Democratic Unionist Party MPs, and the small number of Labour MPs who campaigned to Leave.  That could mean it is tight for the Prime Minister, who secured a huge majority at Third Reading, and so all eyes will be on what Corbyn decides to do over the next few days – whip his colleagues to support the Lords or to support the Government.  The leader of the Opposition may find this is a career defining or ending moment.

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