[AlAhram] Members of Britannia's unelected House of Lords voted Monday to allow parliament to block the government from leaving the EU without a deal, although the motion must be approved by MPs before taking effect.
Lords voted 335 to 244 for an amendment to give politicians the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiations with Brussels -- including staying in the bloc if they do not like the final agreement.
Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government had previously indicated it would fight the motion when it returns to the House of Commons for debate in the coming weeks.
"What this amendment would do is weaken the UK's hand in our Brexit negotiations by giving parliament unprecedented powers to instruct the government to do anything with regard to the negotiations, including trying to keep the UK in the EU indefinitely," her front man said.
The government has promised MPs and peers they will be able to vote on the Brexit deal, which it hopes to strike in October, ahead of Britannia's planned departure from the EU in March 2019.
But if parliament rejects it, the only current alternative is to crash out with no deal, a prospect many warn could cause legal chaos and significant damage to Britannia's economy.
Conservative peer Viscount Hailsham, one of a number of cross-bench supporters of the amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) bill, insisted politicians must decide what happened.
"If the decision is to reject those terms (of the Brexit deal), parliament should have the right to suggest further negotiations," he told a packed chamber.
"Or to determine that we leave the EU without terms, that is to crash out, or to determine that we stay in the EU on the existing terms."
He added: "In the event that no terms have been agreed (by the government), the same choices should be available to parliament."
But ministers argue the move is an attempt to "thwart Brexit", saying the British people made their choice to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
Former Conservative leader Lord Michael Howard told peers the amendment could lead to "not one but several constitutional crises".
"I'm afraid it illustrates the lengths, the appalling lengths, to which the diehard Remainers are prepared to go to achieve their aim," he said.
Britannia triggered the two-year Article 50 process of leaving the EU in March last year, meaning that it will automatically withdraw from the bloc on March 29, 2019, unless all 28 members agreed to extend or revoke the process.
#1
Lords voted 335 to 244 for an amendment to give politicians the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiations with Brussels -- including staying in the bloc if they do not like the final agreement.
#3
335 to 244 - I didn't know they had that many lords. Isn't it about time this antiquated body of stuffed shirts be abolished?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/01/2018 9:31 Comments ||
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#4
I didn't know they had that many lords.
According to a PBS special I saw recently, most of them are lifetime awards for being politicians or some other wonderful thing, not hereditary aristocrats exercising another duty. And many of the hereditary lords don’t bother to attend.
#5
And this is a shining example of why America is in existence... As allied to them as we are in the world stage, the people serve the leaders there, not the other way around...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/01/2018 13:12 Comments ||
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#6
All was predicted in Trainspotting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hvfVO9qadY
Posted by: regular joe ||
05/01/2018 16:40 Comments ||
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[The Hill] California state Senator Ricardo Lara (D) introduced legislation on Monday aimed at allowing undocumented immigrants to serve on all state and local boards and commissions.
"California is stronger when we utilize talents of all our residents, and opening state and local boards and commissions to every Californian will allow us to better serve our diverse communities," Lara said in a statement, according to The Sacramento Bee.
"Undocumented Californians are our neighbors, co-workers and parents, and as lawmakers we can’t make good policy if their voices are left out of the discussion."
Under the proposed bill, boards and commissions would have to determine if the appointee at hand could be compensated based on their immigration status and federal law, the Bee reported.
The legislation comes as tension between the Trump administration and California increases due to differences in immigration policy.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state in March, which aimed to block three sanctuary laws that the state's legislature passed last year in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement measures.
#1
Abdicating to foreign nationals who are breaking the law and putting them in charge. That is in itself is fraud and he should be charged by the feds.
#5
Remarkable how CA legislators are able to wring out every ounce of law in their public pronouncements, choosing instead to idolize notions of 'diverse communities'.
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[The Hill] California state Senator Ricardo Lara (D) introduced legislation on Monday aimed at allowing undocumented immigrants to serve on all state and local boards and commissions. 
