British MPs to sit till midnight for Brexit bill

Britain's House of Commons started a marathon session in a bid to rush through parliament a bill to trigger the process for leaving the European Union.

Speaker John Bercow announced members of parliament would remain in session untill Tuesday midnight, with a second full day of debate on Wednesday when a vote will take place, Xinhua news agency reported.

Although the Brexit bill is one of the shortest, just two sentences, ever presented to the British parliament, it is one of the most important to ever come forward.

If approved it will enable British Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger article 50, the process for quitting the EU, by the end of March.

David Davis, the Secretary of State for exiting the European Union, started the debate with a plea to MPs to respect the will of the British people. Last June they voted by a 52-48 majority to leave, an unexpected outcome that sent shock waves across Europe.

Davis said the bill is straightforward and the issue boils down to a simple question, do MPs trust the will of the people as expressed in June's referendum.

A number of MPs from the main opposition Labour Party have already said they will oppose triggering article 50, and members of the Scottish SNP party will also oppose it.

An amendment to the government measure was lodged by the SNP in a bid to block triggering article 50. They say this is because the Westminster government has not set out any provision for effective consultation with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It also says the government has refused to give a guarantee on the position of EU nationals in Britain, and has left unanswered questions about Britain's withdrawal from the European single market. In the referendum the people of Scotland backed remain.

--IANS

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