Last night hardliners on the Rwanda bill tabled their first amendments aiming to iron out “loopholes which could mean it’s held up in the courts“. The amendments are supported by over 30 MPs to the Tory right before the bill goes to committee stage on the 16th and 17th of the month. Meanwhile Robert Buckland wants to table some wet amendments of his own…
Miriam Cates this morning said it’s the “third time lucky we hope – that’s why we’ve laid these amendments“. Jenrick is claiming he wants to “win the argument” and won’t say whether he will vote against the bill at the third reading, though he will “consider” it. In the meantime at the One Nation Conservatives New Year drinks last night Matt Warman warned: “We know that the government is at its best when its bravest legislation is on the right side of international law, unamended“. Sunak still refuses to specify whether he would ignore an Order 39 injunction. Recipe for a blow-up…
See a full list of the MPs who have signed the amendments below:
The ERG’s “Star Chamber” of legal experts has officially declared its position on Sunak’s Rwanda bill after briefing throughout the weekend that it won’t work without changes. It has now confirmed that the bill does not pass muster. Mark Francois said “the bill provides a partial and incomplete solution“. The expected result…
Francois suggests “it might be better to start again” and scrap the bill. The question now is how Tories will vote on the bill tomorrow – more meetings should take place tonight at around 6 p.m. to decide this. Policy Exchange is recommending that MPs support the bill tomorrow and have it “amended to address the relevant risks” later. The government will meanwhile release a summary of legal advice on the Rwanda bill later this afternoon. A rare move to curry favour…
Read the ERG’s key conclusions below:
Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch is set for a grilling before the European Scrutiny Committee next week, with Sir Bill Cash leading the charge in scrutinising the government’s U-turn on the Retained EU Law earlier this month. This is her sixth invite to the Committee…
The panel will meet on Tuesday morning. Cash has already slammed Badenoch’s previous “failure to appear” as “unacceptable” and a “deeply concerning approach to scrutiny“. The decision to scrap the Bill’s sunset clause on thousands of EU laws also set the cat amongst the pigeons, so it won’t be an easy ride for Badenoch. Mark your calendars…
As of this morning, it’s still a mixed picture on the potential Tory rebellion over the Windsor Framework. The European Research Group are meeting at 10.30 to hear the report of its ‘star chamber’, led by Sir Bill Cash, which will outline the chamber’s final judgement on the deal. According to reports overnight, Cash is expected to say the Stormont Brake – the element MPs will debate on Wednesday – is “unusable” in practice, and the Group shouldn’t support it. Tory MPs speaking to Guido say they nonetheless expect the Tory rebellion to be “soft“, and “they’ll have to have uncovered something pretty bad for a lot of people to vote against it”. The Telegraph has heard similarly, with one MP saying the group were “genuinely torn”…
The first Tory out the gates declaring their opposition this morning is Sir James Duddridge, who describes the deal as a “betrayal of Brexit” and vows to “absolutely vote against” it. The DUP decision to oppose it has put the wind in his sails. The Express, meanwhile, is more certain the ERG “is likely to side with the DUP” and push the rebellion figures higher. Although even if more MPs ultimately do follow Duddridge and the DUP, Starmer’s support means it’s incredibly unlikely to sink the deal entirely. It’s also worth keeping an eye on abstentions rather than outright opposition, as with the Illegal Migrant Bill earlier this month. Expect a press conference from the ERG this morning after their meeting, with Chris Heaton-Harris also up in front of Cash and the European Scrutiny Committee this afternoon. A busy day in SW1 – get the popcorn…
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris will appear in front of the European Scrutiny Committee tomorrow afternoon, just a day before MPs vote on the Stormont Brake element of the Windsor Framework Brexit deal in the House of Commons. The Committee’s chair, Sir Bill Cash, had previously invited Rishi Sunak, with Cash accusing the PM of dodging scrutiny by repeatedly skipped the invitation. As a compromise, he’s sent Heaton-Harris as his loyal lieutenant…
With the DUP voting against the deal, and the ERG expected to announce their own verdict tomorrow – also not looking positive – it won’t be smooth sailing for wise-cracking Heaton-Harris. Stay tuned…
The European Scrutiny Committee, chaired by Commons grandee Sir Bill Cash, is agitating over Rishi’s Windsor Framework Northern Ireland Brexit deal, demanding Parliament has “meaningful input” on the agreement to avoid a “fait accompli” between the government and the EU if the deal is signed off next week. In a new report published this afternoon, the Committee bemoan Rishi for declining their invitation to give evidence today, and claim “he may be attempting to swerve timely scrutiny”. Cash added:
“Parliament should not be railroaded into a deal that it has not had sufficient time to come to an educated choice over whether to proceed or renegotiate, which will be unlikely to happen if the Government were to rush ahead particularly if the EU wishes to do so. MPs in the House must have a meaningful chance at input before this happens.”
The Committee add their invitation “remains open“, and they have “concerns” over “the applicability of EU law in Northern Ireland […] the role of the European Court of Justice under the Framework, the operation of the ‘Stormont Brake’, and movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” In his reply to Cash last week, Rishi offered up Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris in his stead. Looks like Cash is having none of it…
