Empty seats in parliament as only a handful of MPs turn up to debate Brexit Great Repeal Bill
David Davis addressed rows of empty green benches in parliament today, as only a scattering of MPs turned up to debate the government’s Great Repeal Bill.
Not even half the chamber was occupied as the Brexit secretary set out the government’s plan to reform Britain’s laws after its exit from the European Union.
The debate took place a day after the Government officially set in the motion the Brexit process by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
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The bill, which Theresa May said would make the UK an ‘independent, sovereign nation’, sets out to incorporate EU law into UK legislation, avoiding a legal ‘black hole’ upon departure.
It will cover thousands of laws and regulations, from environmental protection to worker’s rights.
The empty seats in parliament did not go unnoticed. The Sun’s Deputy Political Editor Steve Hawkes tweeted: ‘To think of the MPs demanding a say on the EU and Brexit – Chamber not even half full for the Great Repeal Bill debate.’
To think of the MPs demanding a say on the EU and Brexit – Chamber not even half full for the Great Repeal Bill debate
— steve hawkes (@steve_hawkes) March 30, 2017
Proceedings began at 12pm, half an hour later than planned, due to delays in parliamentary proceedings.
In his opening statement, Mr Davis said that the bill would ‘end the supremacy’ of EU laws.
He told the MPs present: ‘Our laws will then be made in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast and interpreted not by judges in Luxembourg but by judges across the United Kingdom.’
He went on to assure the Commons that the bill would ‘provide clarity and certainty for businesses and consumers on the day we leave the EU’ and ensure there was ‘no sudden change’ to the rights of people and businesses.
Shadow Brexit Secretary Kier Starmer also addressed the chamber, raising concerns that the Government’s proposal grants ‘sweeping power to the executive’.
He explained: ‘Sweeping, because it proposes a power to use a delegated legislation to correct and thus change primary legislation, and also devolved legislation. Sweeping because of the sheer scale of the exercise.’
Mr Starmer also raised concerns that the white paper lacked rigorous safeguards against the watering down of rights currently enshrined in EU legislation.
