Meddling Lords accused of ‘attempting to overturn Brexit’ after thrashing Government in vote on wrecking amendment
Former Conservative leader Lord Howard blasted peers for threatening to spark 'not one but several constitutional crises'
MEDDLING Lords have been accused of "attempting to overturn Brexit" after inflicting another defeat on Theresa May’s flagship bill.
Pro-EU Lords today thrashed the Government in a vote on a wrecking amendment which could remove the right of ministers to walk away from negotiations with Brussels without a deal.
In extraordinary scenes in the upper chamber, Lord Roberts claimed the EU Withdrawal bill was like the legislation which enabled Adolf Hitler to take control in 1933.
Former Conservative leader Lord Howard blasted peers for threatening to spark “not one but several constitutional crises”, while Brexit minister Lord Callanan said it would “weaken the UK's hand” in the upcoming discussions.
But Tory former minister Viscount Hailsham, who proposed the cross-party amendment, said it was aimed at ensuring "that the future of our country is determined by Parliament and not by ministers".
He told : “This legislation is an essential mechanism for delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit and ensuring our legal order functions.
“The over the top nonsense spouted by its opponents demonstrates how moribund their arguments are.”
Ahead of today's vote, Mrs May's spokesman said: "Fundamentally, the British people voted to leave the EU and the Government is delivering on that.
"It is simply not right that Parliament could overturn this.
"It is absolutely right that Parliament is able to scrutinise the final deal, and that is why we have already committed to giving both houses a vote on the final deal."
Today’s amendment means Parliament could get a potentially decisive say over the outcome of Brexit talks.
Peers backed the change to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill by 335 to 244, majority 91.
Ex-Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern warned: "It is arrogant in the extreme for members of the House of Lords to tell the House of Commons what to do."
Conservatives who defied the Government included the former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine and former ministers Lord Patten of Barnes and Lord Willetts.
The change means that if MPs vote against the final deal, it will not automatically mean the UK leaves the EU with no deal at all.
It is opposed by the government and could be overturned in the House of Commons, but it sets up another potentially knife-edge vote for Mrs May as she tries to see off the EU rebel MPs.
Speaking in the debate today Lord Howard said: “I have great respect for all the proposers of this motion, which makes me all the more astonished that they should put forward a clause that could, and very probably would, lead to not one but several constitutional crisis.
“I am reluctant to draw the conclusion that is the intention, that so determined are its movers to thwart the will of the British people that they wish to provoke a constitutional crisis, [but] that is the perilous outcome to which this opens the door.”
He added that the new clause “would immeasurably weaken the government’s negotiating position” and would “make our government and our country a laughing stock”.
And Lord Howard argued the un-elected chamber could "defy not only the will of the people but also the will of the elected chamber of Parliament".
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Earlier Lord Roberts, a Lib Dem peer, drew anger in the chamber after comparing Mrs May to Adolf Hitler.
Speaking about the PM’s stance on who gets a “meaningful” say on Brexit, he said: “My mind went back to Berlin in 1933, when the enabling bill passed in the Reichstag.”
“That bill transferred the most democratic right from the parliament into the hands of one man, the chancellor – and his name was Adolf Hitler.”
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