A CONTROVERSIAL trade bill has been passed by MPs despite it breaking international law.
The UK Internal Market bill passed in the Commons tonight by 340 votes in favour, and 263 against.
The debate was fiery from both sides, with the SNP and many Welsh MPs arguing it would snatch power from their governments.
Ed Miliband also humiliated Boris Johnson by challenging him to reference which part of the bill would protect Northern Ireland and stop any alleged ‘blockades’ by the EU of goods coming from the country to Great Britain.
The Prime Minister declined to take up the offer, but defended the bill by saying it was an insurance policy against any potential use of the Northern Ireland Protocol by the EU to block free movement of goods.
It is now set to be debated further over four days, with Mike Russell, the Scottish Government’s constitution secretary, coming before the Commons tomorrow.
Lib Dem MP Jamie Stone accused the Prime Minister of being "totally inadequate" following the vote.
He said: "A short-term win for Boris, but at what a price.
“This false win doesn’t even begin to paper over a situation where a deeply divided government is now staring into the abyss of a United Kingdom which is in the gravest peril of being broken up, entirely because an ignorant and totally inadequate Prime Minister is fiddling about with a shoddy Bill - a u-turn on his own deal - instead of being a proper leader in desperate times.”
The Conservatives hit out at Labour MPs who voted against the legislation.
Amanda Milling MP, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “People will be appalled that when presented with another opportunity to stand up for the integrity of the United Kingdom, Labour yet again chose to side with the European Union.
“Our UK Internal Market Bill protects the Union and ensures we can preserve peace in Northern Ireland, whereas Labour just followed their instinct to side with Brussels again.
“We will always work to ensure the UK continues to thrive, as we deliver on our manifesto promise to ensure unfettered trade across the whole United Kingdom.”
The UK Government welcomed the passing of the bill, saying it now had to be made into law before the end of the year.
A spokeswoman said: "We welcome the fact that this vital Bill has passed its second reading.
"It will protect the territorial integrity of the UK and the peace in Northern Ireland, safeguarding trade and jobs across all four corners of the UK following the end of the Transition Period.
"It is critical that we pass this Bill before the end of the year.”
Further reading:
- UK Internal Market bill passed by MPs despite it breaking international law
- Parliament RECAP: Internal Market Bill vote as it happened
- Watch: Ed Miliband's scathing takedown of Boris Johnson
- Watch: Douglas Ross insists the SNP 'does not speak for Scotland'
- Sajid Javid and the growing list of Tory rebels refusing to back new Brexit bill
- Explained: What is the Internal Market Bill and how does it break international law?
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel