Theresa May launches humiliating Brexit climbdown over plans to seize 'Henry VIII' powers
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Theresa May launched a humiliating Brexit climb down yesterday(MON) over plans to seize so-called Henry VIII powers.
The Prime Minister caved into MPs’ demands that a committee should be set-up to examine statutory instruments - tools critics say lets the Government dodged scrutiny - made under her flagship Brexit Bill.
She had hoped to drive through plans in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. But, faced with the prospect of an embarrassing Commons defeat on Wednesday over an amendment to the Bill, she decided to back down.
Her spokesman said the statutory instruments would be scrutinised by a “sifting committee”.
(Image: PA)
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He added: “We have studied the procedures’s Committee report in detail and listened to the recommendations and we are announcing today that we will be accepting this amendment.
"We recognise the role of Parliament in scrutinising the Bill and we have been clear throughout that we are taking a pragmatic approach to what we have always said is a vital piece of legislation.
"Where MPs and peers can improve the Bill we will work with them.”
No 10 paved the way for further U-turns, adding: “We have said we will look at amendments and respond to them in due course.”
What's the row about?
(Image: PA)
The row surrounds 800 to 1,000 “secondary laws” that will give the government sweeping powers to implement Britain’s withdrawal and “correct” EU-inspired law before March 2019.
Critics say the so-called ‘Henry VIII’ powers will allow the government to change the law of the land without scrutiny.
So Parliament’s Procedure Committee, led by Tory Charles Walker, demanded a new body to sift through all the secondary laws.
Today, the government caved in an accepted its demands.
The so-called ’sifting committee’ will decide if each law should be “affirmative” or “negative”.
Affirmative powers must be debated by MPs before they become law - yet negative powers become law before MPs get to look at them.
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
Negative powers can only be blocked if MPs vote to “pray against them” within 40 days, and the last time this happened was in 1979.
The government had planned for most powers relating to EU law to be 'negative'.
Instead each law will now have to be laid before the committee for two weeks - 10 Parliamentary days - to decide if they should be upgraded to 'affirmative'.
Tory ministers will be able to ignore the committee’s advice - but would be forced to explain why.
Meanwhile the power balance on the crucial body could spark a major political row.
Officials today said they expected it to feature 16 MPs: eight Tories, six from Labour and two from the SNP.
That would leave the control of the committee on a knife-edge, because whichever party provides the chair could effectively lose out on a majority.
Meanwhile some MPs may argue laws are still being made without enough scrutiny.
Even affirmative powers are usually discussed in an obscure committee, and do not get a “yes or no” vote unless they are upgraded to a debate in the Commons chamber.
The new ‘sifting committee’ is also not permanent - it will only apply to the scope of the EU Withdrawal Bill.