First concrete expression of the conservative victory in the British elections of December 12: the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) received a first and frank assent, Friday, December 20, in the House of Commons. The text entering divorce into British law was adopted by 358 votes to 234 against, in a vote in principle, at second reading. It has been two years since a British government has had such success in Westminster.
The text on divorce on the British side has not been definitively adopted: it must still pass the examination of parliamentary committees, get the green light from the Lords, then obtain the "assent" of the queen – a formality. This process is expected to last until mid-January. The European Parliament must also ratify the divorce treaty: a vote is scheduled for late January. But nothing, a priori, stands in the way of Brexit on January 31, 2020, at midnight London time.
This feeling that Brexit is now inevitable was very present in the House of Commons on Friday. Anxious, since his victory, to repair the divisions – which he helped to exacerbate in the fall -, the Prime Minister introduced the debate by calling again for reconciliation between brexiters and remainers: "The time has come to act together", he launched. Rather than arguing for continued illusion in the EU, the Labor opposition has focused on denouncing a "Bad text" and multiplied the warnings on the "after": the upcoming negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU.
Labor MPs divided
No fewer than 32 Labor MPs (out of 203 in total) preferred to abstain, and therefore did not follow their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who called for an unambiguous vote. Six others even voted for Mr. Johnson’s divorce deal: proof that within Labor, the stance to be taken on Brexit still divides. The party is in shock of a historic defeat, and already caught up in a war against the succession of Mr. Corbyn, who promises to be rude.
The text is "Terrible" tried Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Labor, who called to vote against. "It will not protect or improve our rights" and "It will lead us to an agreement (commercial) toxic with Donald Trump, which will lead to the sale of our health care system and higher drug prices. ” "This law is playing dangerously with the economy of our country", said Labor MP Hillary Benn, who distinguished himself in 2019 by depriving the May and Johnson governments of the possibility of going to the "no deal". "We lost the elections, but we did not lose our values. The Prime Minister’s divorce deal is a bad deal, and to only allow one year for the transition period is ridiculous, ” Keir Starmer, a member of Mr. Corbyn's “shadow cabinet”, in charge of Brexit has also been tried.
