Newington's Robert Hamilton outlines what to look out for over the next fortnight. 

As Parliament sat this week, notable by its absence was the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. In the face of a prospective Tory rebellion and wrecking amendment, the Government blinked first and temporarily withdrew the Bill from Committee Stage. The main business of Parliament will be taken up by Committee work over the next fortnight, with the International Development Committee’s probing of DFID’s Annual Report a possibility to see fireworks following a year of negative headlines regarding alleged wasteful spending. Legislatively, there is paucity without the cornerstone EU legislation – the Space Industry Bill and Finance Bill are left standing by way of legislative concerns.

With the Government facing revolt from within the Conservative Party, it is likely to take a great deal of external momentum to swing public opinion behind the EU Withdrawal legislation and force Parliament to listen. Prime Minister Theresa May heads to Luxembourg today to do just that. The EU Council meeting of heads of state had been billed as a watershed moment in the negotiations, with hopes that talks between the UK and the EU would have progressed to such a point to countenance the start of talks over future trade relations. A lack of progress thus far (on both sides) has left the British negotiating team nurturing more modest ambitions - that the other EU leaders will agree to begin internal discussions among themselves towards a future relationship. The next two days will show just how effective Theresa May’s charm offensive on Monday was after jetting into Brussels for the briefest of working dinners with the previously intractable Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Elsewhere in the UK, the Scottish Parliament returns from Recess on Monday 23, with key debates on the future of fracking and the Scottish position on EU-UK negotiations likely to be highlights.