Dec 12th, 2017
Delegated Powers: Update
By Becca McCarthy
Incredible. 381,000 people have already signed the petition to stop Theresa May’s plan to rewrite UK laws behind closed doors after Brexit.
Now it’s crunch time. In a few days MPs are voting on Theresa May’s plans. [1] It’s our best chance to get them to vote for changes to make sure laws after Brexit are debated and voted on properly. [2]
One MP’s vote could be the difference between winning or losing. So we need to make sure they know the public is watching. Every last signature on the petition counts.
The petition will be delivered to MPs early next week, right before the vote. Please can you now help it reach 400,000 signatures before it gets delivered, by asking your friends and family to sign it too?
Just click on the link to share the video and petition on Facebook:
Together, we’ve already landed a blow to Theresa May’s plan. After hundreds of thousands signed the petition and thousands more of us emailed our MPs, politicians from all parties have stood up in Parliament to criticise the plans. [4]
But this is going to be close, and a handful of votes could be the difference between winning or losing. One last show of public pressure could convince them to vote the right way.
NOTES:
[1] Sky News: Brexit ‘guerilla warfare’ kicks off in the Commons over EU Withdrawal Bill:
https://news.sky.com/story/brexit-guerilla-warfare-kicks-off-in-the-commons-over-eu-withdra wal-bill-11125635
[2] When we Brexit, the government will need to rewrite lots of rules which previously came from Brussels. First, they’ll take all existing EU laws and put them into UK law. Then they’ll go back and change these rules one by one.
This is a necessary process. But it needs to be done properly. The government is suggesting that it would be too time-consuming for MPs to look properly at all the changes. So instead the Repeal Bill could give them the power to change lots of laws in the future without fresh votes. This is known as delegated powers. The most extreme version of this power is known as a “Henry VIII” clause, after the Tudor king who tried to rule by decree instead of going through parliament.
These powers are controversial. A House of Lords Committee has said: ‘Parliament should ensure that the delegated powers granted under the ‘Great Repeal Bill’ are as limited as possible.’:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldconst/19/1906.htm
You can read more here:
Financial Times: Concerns remain over how ‘Henry VIII powers’ will affect Brexit
https://www.ft.com/content/3e667c06-93d4-11e7-a9e6-11d2f0ebb7f0
[3] See note 2
[4] Guardian: Tory rebels vow to resist ‘blood-curdling threats’ over Brexit bill
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/14/tory-rebels-vow-to-resist-bloodcurdling-threats-over-brexit-bill
