One year after becoming U.K. prime minister, Theresa May is braced for political trench warfare over Brexit as she finally unveils the landmark law that will take Britain out of the European Union.
Opposition politicians are plotting to unite with rebels in Mays Conservative Party to re-write the key piece of legislation that will prepare the U.K.s law book for leaving the EU -- before she has even published it. That could end up softening the ultimate Brexit.
Photographer: Andy Rain/Pool via Bloomberg
Without an automatic majority in Parliament, Mays minority Tory government is likely to need votes from other parties to pass the so-called Repeal Bill.
Her team is preparing for months of attritional battles aheadand will seek to make allies with political rivals, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing internal plans.
Those who try to derail this bill are increasing the risk of what they would call hard Brexit, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Thursday. We are going to leave the European Union and if we are unable to put the laws in place that provide that stability, we will still leave, we simply will not have the legal framework that we want.
A year to the day since she succeeded David Cameron, May and her vision of a clean break with the EU are under attack on two fronts -- her critics in London who are emboldened by her failure to win a majority in last months election and want a softer departure -- and the EUs negotiators who are taking a firm line as talks unfold.
Time is also short.The prime minister wants to open talks on a new free-trade deal between the U.K. and the EU so that the future trading relationship is settled by the deadline for talks concluding of March 29, 2019.
Yet trade discussions will not begin until the EU judges that the U.K. has made enough progress toward settling the long-term fate of 3.2 million Europeans living in Britain, the payment of a financial settlement to the bloc and the future for the Irish border. Progress so far has been limited in all three areas.
On Thursday, Mays administrationwill set out the legal mechanism for adjusting British law after Brexit.
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, to give the Repeal Bill its formal title, willend the jurisdiction of EU law in the U.K. It will also convert existing European statutes into the British law book when the U.K. leaves the bloc, a move intended provide continuity for businesses and to avoid a legislative black hole appearing overnight as Britain exits the EU.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper on Thursday, Labours Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said he was putting the government on notice that the official opposition party would not support the Repeal Bill in its current form.
Former U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable discusses the outlook for Brexit talks with Bloombergs Mark Barton.
(Source: Bloomberg)
It would take only seven lawmakers from Mays Tory party to rebel in order to potentially defeat the government in any vote in the House of Commons.
Starmer demanded changes to the bill in six areas, including the extent of the executive powers the draft law gives Mays ministers to alter legislation without full scrutiny from Parliament. A senior figure in Mays team said this battle would be the most difficult for the government to win.
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David Davis, the Tory Brexit Secretary, appealed for support from other parties to pass the laws. By working together, in the national interest, we can ensure we have a fully functioning legal system on the day we leave the European Union, Davis said in an email on Thursday. The eyes of the country are on us, and I will work with anyone to achieve this goal and shape a new future for our country.
While the Repeal Bill itself is likely to pass eventually, long-running clashes over follow-up legislation could bring the whole business of government to a standstill, the person said.
The government needs to understand that Parliament is going to be an active participant in this process, Hilary Benn, a Labour lawmaker and chairman of the House of Commons Brexit Committee, told BBC Radio. We absolutely have to get it right.
Read more: Brexits Repeal Bill, No Longer Great But Vital
In Brussels, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnierdismissed comments from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that the EU could go whistle for its money if it thought Britain would pay sums said to be as high as 100 billion euros ($114 billion) as an exit fee. I am not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking, Barnier said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will meet Barnier in Brussels for detailed talks Thursday.
Labour respects the referendum result and the decision to leave the European Union, Corbyn said in an emailed statement before the meeting. But a Labour Brexit would look very different to the race-to-the-bottom tax haven backed by this Conservative Government.
The difficulties ahead are not just limited to political maneuvers as the talks progress.Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, warned that the practicalities of government departments working together risk the U.K. approach fragmenting.
To make his point, he used the image of a popular candy bar that breaks into segments when tapped.
It needs to act as far as possible in a unified way and we have an issue there because of departmental government, Morse said, according to a report by the Press Association newswire. What we dont want to find is that at the first tap, this falls apart like a chocolate orange. It needs to be coming through as uniform, a little bit more like a cricket ball.
The government will also publish three position papers Thursday, covering nuclear materials and safeguards issues, ongoing union judicial and administrative proceedings, and privileges and immunities.
The papers will be presented to the EU for discussion when formal Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels next week.
Read more:
May Faces Battle Over Brexit Laws as Clock Ticks on EU Talks - Bloomberg