Posted March 08, 2017 09:19:15

Photo: Prime Minister May has faced numerous challenges from Parliament over the EU exit strategy, (Reuters: Neil Hall)

Britain's Upper House of Parliament has voted to give its members more power to reject the final terms of the country's exit from the European Union, ignoring pleas from Prime Minister Theresa May's Government not to hamstring their negotiations.

The vote, which passed by 366 to 268, attaches an extra condition to the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill — legislation which will give Ms May the power to trigger the legal process of leaving the EU.

The amended bill now demands Britain's Parliament must approve any exit deal before it is debated by the European Parliament, or, if talks fail, that MPs must vote to approve a decision to walk away without a deal.

Ms May was dealt an earlier blow last week when the House of Lords voted in favour of changes which require the Government to publish proposals on how to protect EU citizens currently living in Britain— including their residency rights — within three months of triggering the Brexit process.

The Government will seek to overturn both changes when the bill is presented for approval to the Lower Chamber, where Ms May has a slim majority.

Defeat in the Lower Chamber, however, could present a major headache for Ms May if members of her own party follow through on their threats to rebel by supporting this latest amendment.

"I will vote to keep in this amendment," Anna Soubry, a Conservative MP in the Lower Chamber, said.

She said Parliament needed a proper say on the issue, warning of the dangers of a 'Hard Brexit' scenario where Britain left the EU without a deal.

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The Government already promised Parliament a vote on the final deal, but believed restricting Ms May's ability to leave the negotiating table could encourage the EU to offer a bad deal in the hope Parliament would then reject it and potentially halt Brexit.

"This amendment simply makes the negotiations much harder from day one for the Prime Minister as it increases the incentive for the European Union to offer nothing but a bad deal," said George Bridges, the Government's Brexit Minister for the Lords, in his final plea before the vote.

Ms May has insisted she would be prepared to leave the EU without any deal if the terms on offer weren't good enough, stating in January: "No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain."

But, if the changes made become law, she would not be able to do that without parliamentary approval. Mr Bridges said it was unclear what would happen if Parliament rejected such a move.

Reuters

Topics: world-politics, united-kingdom, european-union