British lawmakers back government’s Brexit plan

LONDON

In a non-binding vote Wednesday in the House of Commons, lawmakers backed the government’s plans to trigger Article 50 by the end of March next year.

“That this House should respect the wishes of the United Kingdom as expressed in the referendum on 23 June; and further calls on the Government to invoke Article 50 by 31 March 2017,” the amendment to Brexit plans said. MPs voted 461-89 in of the motion.

Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty addresses a member state’s departure from the EU.

The amendment was added to a motion from the Labour party on parliament’s responsibility to “properly ” the government about Brexit negotiations.

“Should be no disclosure of material that could be reasonably judged to damage the UK in any negotiations to depart from the European Union after Article 50 has been triggered,” the Labour motion said. MPs also voted to support Labour's motion in a 448-75 vote.

Earlier in the day, David Lidington, Leader of the House of Commons, said it would be against the “national interest” to reveal Brexit plans.

“We face a very challenging, very wide-ranging negotiation and it would be harmful to the national interest for me or other ministers to engage in that sort of detailed exposition of our negotiating position,” he said under heavy pressure from opposition lawmakers.

Echoing Prime Minister Theresa May, however, Lidington told parliament the government would reveal its talks strategy before initiating the exit process from the 28-member bloc.

“We will before Article 50 is triggered, a statement about our negotiating strategy and objectives as the prime minister said yesterday,” he told the Commons.

Meanwhile, a Supreme Court hearing on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU continued as the government sought to avoid having to secure parliamentary consent on exit negotiations.

The government is challenging a ruling by the High Court last month that said parliament must be consulted before Article 50 is triggered.

May has insisted her administration will trigger legislation before the end of March by using “prerogative powers”.

The High Court, however, said parliament can make changes that would affect laws passed in the 1972 European Communities Act that led to the U.K. joining the European Economic Community, the forerunner to the EU.