Photo courtesy of NBC News.
Summary: A crucial Parliament debate may derail Britain’s scheduled exit from the European Union.
The official Brexit date is scheduled for March 19, 2019, but a pending debate between the UK’s two political parties may halt it, according to NBC News.
“It is almost exactly two years since British citizens voted in a referendum on membership of the European Union. The relatively narrow vote in favor of Brexit stunned Britain’s political class, and that shock remains well represented in the current parliament, where a majority of today’s sitting lawmakers voted against a departure from the world’s largest trading bloc,” NBC News stated.
The debate concerns the EU Withdrawal Bill, and it’s tearing apart the country’s Conservative Party and is being met with discord for the minority Labour Party. NBC News said that Parliament spent more than 250 hours discussing the bill, and many in the Upper House have expressed their dissatisfaction with parts approved by Prime Minister Theresa May.
One important issue for the Upper House Lords is that the UK government should keep the country inside the European Union’s customs union. Proponents argue that membership in the customs union will allow easy trade with British businesses and other parts of Europe.
Another critical issue for the Lords is for the UK to have membership to the European Economic Area. This would allow the country to have access to Europe’s single market while still allowing it to be separate from the EU.
NBC News said that a third issue, however, may be the most “significant” in the ongoing debate.
“Perhaps the most significant amendment to face a vote in the latest Commons reading is known as the “meaningful vote.” If passed, it would mean that a majority of both houses of parliament would have future veto power over whatever deal the government is able to win in the next few months of negotiations with the European team led by Michel Barnier,” NBC News said.
NBC News said that this issue should be paid attention to by the British public. Currently, Parliament does not have any veto power, and if this power is granted, it could affect whether or not Brexit goes through on March 29, 2019, dependent on which party is in the majority that year.
The vote in 2016 to remove UK from the European Union was a controversial one, with 52% of the vote in favor of the decision. According to Forbes, the three reasons Britains chose Brexit was because of the economy, sovereignty, and political elitism.
“Most “leave” supporters believed that the financial industry’s recklessness and incompetence had created a disaster for many. Besides, they saw no benefit to themselves in the success of the financial industry… even though it wasn’t true,” Forbes stated. “It’s vital to understand that Brexit was a vote against the British elite. Voters thought politicians, business leaders, and intellectuals had lost their right to control the system.”
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