Brexit: Lords hand government another defeat
MPs will now vote on extent of parliament's role in path to Brexit
By Muhammad Mussa
LONDON
The Lords have voted for a new "meaningful vote" amendment on the EU Withdrawal Bill, to establish how much of a say parliament will have, by a majority of 354 votes to 235, handing the government yet another defeat.
The amendment, written by the pro-EU Conservative Dominic Grieve, aims to give parliament a vote whether the government reaches a deal with the EU, or not.
Of the 354 MPs who voted in favor of the amendment in the House of Lords, parliament’s upper chamber, 22 were from the Conservative party and 147 from the Labour party.
Among the Tory peers who voted against the government were senior figures such as Michael Heseltine, Chris Patten and Sayeeda Warsi.
According to the new amendment, ministers must report back to parliament by January 2019 even if the government has failed to devise a deal with Brussels.
A statement will then be given in the House of Commons on what course the government should take in the event of a no deal.
The new amendment will be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday and put to a vote before MPs.
The "meaningful vote" is the last issue of the EU Withdrawal Bill that remains unresolved after MPs last week voted in favor of the government on other aspects of the bill.
