‘Damned stupid’ Tory backbenchers seem keen to support the worst possible Brexit

Last Updated: January 31, 2017By

Brexit secretary, David Davis, speaks in the House of Commons, London, during Brexit questions [Image: PA].

This is the problem with Tory backbenchers – they’re happy to put up a token fight against controversial legislation, then back down as soon as they get the vaguest of vague promises.

If none of the amendments to Theresa May’s silly Article 50 Bill are passed because of Tory blocks, then the Labour leadership will be entitled to a complete rethink of its support for this legislation.

Labour MPs will have shown that they are willing to support the people’s wish that the UK should leave the European Union, by voting in favour of the Bill at second reading.

But Labour has no desire to let Theresa May do whatever she likes at the expense of the rest of the UK. If none of the amendments are passed into law, then perhaps the party should oppose the Bill.

It is not – after all – legislation to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. It merely confers power on Theresa May to do so at her own convenience.

So the door is open for Labour to say it has done everything it could to make this Bill workable but it is the Conservatives who have been irrational.

If the Tories are determined for Brexit to be a damned stupid thing, done in a damned stupid way, then let their damned stupid MPs take all the damned stupid blame.

Theresa May’s Brexit bill is likely to pass through the Commons without major amendment next week, as Conservative rebels are backing away from supporting changes proposed by Labour or other opposition parties.

A band of Tory MPs fighting against a hard Brexit are indicating they have been largely satisfied by the prime minister’s promise of a white paper, which they believe could be published as early as Thursday.

Source: Brexit bill set to pass without amendment as Tory rebels back off | Politics | The Guardian

Note: Before anybody makes silly suggestions, this article does not constitute a U-turn by This Writer. Labour’s amendments have not yet been discussed, so we don’t know whether the Bill will end up in a form that the party can – or should – support.

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3 Comments

  1. Tommy Cockerham January 31, 2017 at 9:35 am - Reply

    That is the main worry here- the final vote is the crucial bit.

    Ultimately it all comes down to a numbers game. The Tories have a small majority in the commons so the only way of stopping the A50 bill passing is if there is a Tory rebellion.

    Lets see what, if any of Labour’s amendments get through.

  2. Justin January 31, 2017 at 11:28 am - Reply

    Wonder what Backbenchers it will be, the ones they roll out when they have difficult votes that you hardly ever see or the ids model of generic tory clones that somehow manages to keep a seat and actually thinks people like him and his mates

  3. Barry Davies January 31, 2017 at 4:41 pm - Reply

    Hard to see how you can table 50 amendments to a less than 200 word bill and actually have any effect on the ultimate outcome. The people voted to leave the EU not to have the softest of soft exits which would leave us virtually in the thing and still paying out a fortune for the “privilege” that seems the be the stupid outcome that people like Lib dems farron and clegg want and tories like Clarke and Soubry not to mention labour people like Diane Abbott, would prefer.

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