BULLETIN 6 September 2019

Headlines

• Parliament passes ‘no to No Deal’ legislation. MPs and Lords passed the ‘Benn Bill’ which seeks to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October.

• Prime Minister puts the Government on an election footing. Following the Government defeat on the Benn Bill the PM attempted to call an early General Election on 15 October but didn't receive sufficient support.

• Another big week ahead. The PM is expected to bring forward another motion calling for a General Election before Parliament is prorogued for 5 weeks ahead of a Queen’s Speech.

‘Benn Bill’ Backbenchers take control of the Commons • On Tuesday Parliament returned from its summer recess and MPs decided that their main attempt to stop a No Deal Brexit would focus on passing legislation which would force the Government to act. Backbench MPs tabled and passed an emergency motion to take control of the order paper on Wednesday.

• The Government lost by 27 votes, with 21 Conservative MPs rebelling including former Cabinet Ministers such as , Ken Clarke and . In response to voting against the Government, removed the Conservative Whip from the 21 rebels meaning they now sit as Independent MPs.

• With control of the order paper, the rebel backbenchers spent Wednesday debating a bill in the name of Hillary Benn MP, thus becoming the ‘Benn Bill’. The anti-No Deal backbenchers rushed the Bill through the House of Commons in one day.

• The Bill has this afternoon passed unamended in the House of Lords. The Bill is due to receive Royal Assent on Monday 9 September and become .

What is in the Benn Bill • The Bill itself stipulates that if MPs haven’t approved a Brexit deal via a meaningful vote or approved leaving the EU without a deal by 19 October, then the Prime Minister must send a letter (specifically worded in the bill) to the President of the European Council which seeks an extension to Article 50 until 31 January 2020. If the EU agrees to the date, then the Prime Minister should also agree.

• If the EU proposes an alternative date, the Bill requires the Prime Minister to agree, unless MPs vote against in a motion within two days. The Bill does not stop the Prime Minister from agreeing on an extension to Article 50 himself.

• If an extension is agreed, the Bill requires the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU to publish a report on progress made in negotiations by 30 November 2019.

General Election footing Prime Minister’s plan for 15 October election on hold

• Following his Commons defeat on Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced that he would table a motion the following day to call an early General Election to take place on 15 October.

• To secure an early General Election under the Fixed Terms Parliament Act, a motion requires the support of at least two-thirds of all MPs in the Commons (434 MPs). The PM secured 298 votes to 56, thus not reaching the necessary two-thirds threshold.

• Labour Leader and other opposition parties voted against the motion for a general election as they believed there was a risk the Prime Minister could move the poll to after 31 October - by which point the UK would have left the European Union with or without a deal.

• The Prime Minister plans to hold another motion for a General Election on Monday, however, he will require a significant number of opposition MPs to back the motion for it to pass. This morning, the leaders of Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, and the Green Party held a conference call agreeing that they would not vote with the Government to hold any General Election before the EU Council on 18 October.

• Other than passing a vote in Parliament the PM has very limited options to call an early election. The only other options are to hold a vote in no confidence in the Government, which is unlikely or pass a law to amend the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which opposition parties could thwart or attach their conditions to via amendments.

Parliament heading towards prorogation

• As announced last week, Parliament will prorogue (be suspended) next week until 14 October, in advance of a Queen’s Speech. Currently this is expected to take place on Monday, however, the Government has until Thursday if it believes a vote in the Commons for an early election could be successful.

• If no early election vote is tabled and passed by a two-thirds majority before prorogation it will not be possible for there to be a General Election held before 31 October.

Next Week Points to watch out for next week • The Benn Bill will receive Royal Assent in Parliament on Monday 9 September.

• Parliament will be prorogued, bringing to an end the longest Parliamentary session in history. This must take place by Thursday, but is expected to happen on Monday.

• Even if a General Election is not secured next week, political parties will move into campaign mode ahead of the political season, beginning on 14 September with the Liberal Democrats in Bournemouth. Labour’s conference in takes place the week after, with the Conservatives in at the end of September.

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