Brexit: Government faces 7th defeat in parliament

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - Prime Minister Theresa May and her government on Monday faced its seventh defeat in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the U.K. Parliament, over amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill.

The cross-party amendment, with the support of 19 rebel Conservative MPs, was passed with a majority of 91 MPs and granted parliament the power to send legislators back to Brussels should the Brexit deal by May be voted down by MPs.

In the past, ministers have warned that should Parliament vote down a deal agreed by negotiators, the U.K. would leave the EU without an agreement and would revert to World Trade Organization rules.

The amendment however, led by Conservative MP Douglas Hogg, would change the “no deal” scenario and could force the government to reopen talks with the EU regarding its relationship with the bloc.

The move by the cross-party group enhanced Conservative MP Dominic Grieve’s amendment to the EU withdrawal bill, which won a surprising victory in the House of Commons last December.

Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit Secretary, described the vote to The Guardian as “a hugely significant moment in the fight to ensure parliament has a proper role in the Brexit negotiations and that we avoid a no-deal situation.”

The support of the 19 rebel Conservative MPs is aimed to attract cross-party support in the House of Commons, a plan that would give pro-EU supporters the chance to vote against a Brexit deal that would damage the interests of the people and the nation without triggering a “no deal” outcome.

The cross-party amendment also calls on legislators to first seek approval from Parliament for the mandate of the second negotiating phase.