Boris Johnson’s bid to effectively tear up parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol has cleared its first Commons hurdle, with no Tory MPs voting against it despite warnings the plans are illegal.
MPs voted 295 to 221, majority 74, to give the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill a second reading, which clears the way for it to undergo detailed scrutiny in the coming weeks.
Voting lists showed that dozens of Conservative MPs abstained, joining former prime minister Theresa May, who made clear she would not support the legislation as she warned it would “diminish” the UK’s global standing and delivered a withering assessment of its legality and impact.
Patriot Trust
Following the result, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted the Bill, which gives ministers powers to override parts of the post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland, “provides practical solutions to problems caused by the Protocol and protects the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement”.
“While a negotiated outcome remains our preference – the EU must accept changes to the Protocol itself,” she added.
The Prime Minister earlier claimed the proposed legislation could be carried out “fairly rapidly”, with the proposals in law by the end of the year.
The Government is aiming to fast-track the Bill through the Commons before Parliament’s summer recess.
However, some MPs who opted not to block it at second reading appear likely to seek amendments, and the House of Lords is also expected to contest parts of the Bill, setting up a lengthy showdown between the two Houses.
EU retaliation
The European Union has also launched fresh legal action against the UK in retaliation over the Government’s move.
Mr Johnson’s Government has said the measures to remove checks on goods and animal and plant products travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are necessary to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement and peace and stability.
“What we are trying to do is fix something that I think is very important to our country, which is the balance of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement,” he told reporters at the G7 summit in Germany.
“You have got one tradition, one community, that feels that things really aren’t working in a way that they like or understand, you’ve got unnecessary barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
“All we are saying is you can get rid of those whilst not in any way endangering the EU single market.”
Asked if the measures could be in place this year, Mr Johnson said: “Yes, I think we could do it very fast, Parliament willing.”
He said it would be “even better” if we could “get some of that flexibility we need in our conversations with Maros Sefcovic”, the European Commission vice-president.
“We remain optimistic”
The Prime Minister added: “We remain optimistic.”
Ms Truss attempted to downplay concerns of MPs by saying the Bill has a “strong legal justification” and the UK remains committed to seeking a negotiated solution.
But leading the criticism from the Tory benches, Mrs May told the Commons: “The UK’s standing in the world, our ability to convene and encourage others in the defence of our shared values, depends on the respect others have for us as a country, a country that keeps its word, and displays those shared values in its actions.
“As a patriot, I would not want to do anything that would diminish this country in the eyes of the world.
“I have to say to the Government, this Bill is not, in my view, legal in international law, it will not achieve its aims, and it will diminish the standing of the United Kingdom in the eyes of the world, and I cannot support it.”
“Displacement activity”
Conservative former Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith also said: “I fear that this Bill is a kind of displacement activity from the core task of doing whatever we can to negotiate a better protocol deal for Northern Ireland.
“I also fear that it risks creating an impression to unionism that a black-and-white solution is available, when the reality is once this Bill has been dragged through the Lords, and courts, and EU responses and reprisals, compromise will ultimately be needed.”
But Conservative former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said there is necessity for the Government to act because there is a growing and “real threat”.
Unionist opposition to the imposition of checks has seen the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refuse to return to the powersharing Executive at Stormont, leaving the region without a functioning government.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson acknowledged the Bill is not perfect but said: “It empowers ministers to make change where change is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the UK internal market.”
Sir Jeffrey, ahead of the debate, also warned the Lords that blocking the legislation would be akin to “wrecking the Good Friday Agreement”.
A Number 10 spokesman said on Monday that the Government had never put a “hard target date” on when it would hope to see the Bill enacted.
Full list of MPs who voted for the Bill
Nigel Adams (Conservative – Selby and Ainsty)
Bim Afolami (Conservative – Hitchin and Harpenden)
Adam Afriyie (Conservative – Windsor)
Nickie Aiken (Conservative – Cities of London and Westminster)
Peter Aldous (Conservative – Waveney)
Lucy Allan (Conservative – Telford)
Lee Anderson (Conservative – Ashfield)
Stuart Anderson (Conservative – Wolverhampton South West)
Stuart Andrew (Conservative – Pudsey)
Caroline Ansell (Conservative – Eastbourne)
Edward Argar (Conservative – Charnwood)
Sarah Atherton (Conservative – Wrexham)
Victoria Atkins (Conservative – Louth and Horncastle)
Gareth Bacon (Conservative – Orpington)
Richard Bacon (Conservative – South Norfolk)
Kemi Badenoch (Conservative – Saffron Walden)
Shaun Bailey (Conservative – West Bromwich West)
Duncan Baker (Conservative – North Norfolk)
Steve Baker (Conservative – Wycombe)
Simon Baynes (Conservative – Clwyd South)
Aaron Bell (Conservative – Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Scott Benton (Conservative – Blackpool South)
Paul Beresford (Conservative – Mole Valley)
Jake Berry (Conservative – Rossendale and Darwen)
Saqib Bhatti (Conservative – Meriden)
Bob Blackman (Conservative – Harrow East)
Peter Bone (Conservative – Wellingborough)
Peter Bottomley (Conservative – Worthing West)
Andrew Bowie (Conservative – West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Suella Braverman (Conservative – Fareham)
Jack Brereton (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent South)
Andrew Bridgen (Conservative – North West Leicestershire)
Paul Bristow (Conservative – Peterborough)
Sara Britcliffe (Conservative – Hyndburn)
Anthony Browne (Conservative – South Cambridgeshire)
Fiona Bruce (Conservative – Congleton)
Felicity Buchan (Conservative – Kensington)
Robert Buckland (Conservative – South Swindon)
Alex Burghart (Conservative – Brentwood and Ongar)
Rob Butler (Conservative – Aylesbury)
Alun Cairns (Conservative – Vale of Glamorgan)
Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party – East Londonderry)
Andy Carter (Conservative – Warrington South)
James Cartlidge (Conservative – South Suffolk)
William Cash (Conservative – Stone)
Miriam Cates (Conservative – Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Maria Caulfield (Conservative – Lewes)
Alex Chalk (Conservative – Cheltenham)
Rehman Chishti (Conservative – Gillingham and Rainham)
Christopher Chope (Conservative – Christchurch)
Jo Churchill (Conservative – Bury St Edmunds)
Greg Clark (Conservative – Tunbridge Wells)
Simon Clarke (Conservative – Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative – Bassetlaw)
Chris Clarkson (Conservative – Heywood and Middleton)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Conservative – The Cotswolds)
Thérèse Coffey (Conservative – Suffolk Coastal)
Elliot Colburn (Conservative – Carshalton and Wallington)
Damian Collins (Conservative – Folkestone and Hythe)
Alberto Costa (Conservative – South Leicestershire)
Robert Courts (Conservative – Witney)
Claire Coutinho (Conservative – East Surrey)
Stephen Crabb (Conservative – Preseli Pembrokeshire)
James Daly (Conservative – Bury North)
David T C Davies (Conservative – Monmouth)
James Davies (Conservative – Vale of Clwyd)
Gareth Davies (Conservative – Grantham and Stamford)
Mims Davies (Conservative – Mid Sussex)
Philip Davies (Conservative – Shipley)
Caroline Dinenage (Conservative – Gosport)
Sarah Dines (Conservative – Derbyshire Dales)
Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative – Huntingdon)
Leo Docherty (Conservative – Aldershot)
Jeffrey M Donaldson (Democratic Unionist Party – Lagan Valley)
Michelle Donelan (Conservative – Chippenham)
Steve Double (Conservative – St Austell and Newquay)
Oliver Dowden (Conservative – Hertsmere)
Richard Drax (Conservative – South Dorset)
James Duddridge (Conservative – Rochford and Southend East)
David Duguid (Conservative – Banff and Buchan)
Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative – Chingford and Woodford Green)
Philip Dunne (Conservative – Ludlow)
Mark Eastwood (Conservative – Dewsbury)
Ruth Edwards (Conservative – Rushcliffe)
Michael Ellis (Conservative – Northampton North)
Natalie Elphicke (Conservative – Dover)
George Eustice (Conservative – Camborne and Redruth)
Luke Evans (Conservative – Bosworth)
David Evennett (Conservative – Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Ben Everitt (Conservative – Milton Keynes North)
Michael Fabricant (Conservative – Lichfield)
Simon Fell (Conservative – Barrow and Furness)
Anna Firth (Conservative – Southend West)
Katherine Fletcher (Conservative – South Ribble)
Mark Fletcher (Conservative – Bolsover)
Nick Fletcher (Conservative – Don Valley)
Vicky Ford (Conservative – Chelmsford)
Mark Francois (Conservative – Rayleigh and Wickford)
Lucy Frazer (Conservative – South East Cambridgeshire)
George Freeman (Conservative – Mid Norfolk)
Mike Freer (Conservative – Finchley and Golders Green)
Louie French (Conservative – Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Richard Fuller (Conservative – North East Bedfordshire)
Marcus Fysh (Conservative – Yeovil)
Mark Garnier (Conservative – Wyre Forest)
Nusrat Ghani (Conservative – Wealden)
Peter Gibson (Conservative – Darlington)
Jo Gideon (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party – South Antrim)
John Glen (Conservative – Salisbury)
Robert Goodwill (Conservative – Scarborough and Whitby)
Michael Gove (Conservative – Surrey Heath)
Richard Graham (Conservative – Gloucester)
James Gray (Conservative – North Wiltshire)
Chris Grayling (Conservative – Epsom and Ewell)
Chris Green (Conservative – Bolton West)
Damian Green (Conservative – Ashford)
Andrew Griffith (Conservative – Arundel and South Downs)
Kate Griffiths (Conservative – Burton)
James Grundy (Conservative – Leigh)
Jonathan Gullis (Conservative – Stoke-on-Trent North)
Luke Hall (Conservative – Thornbury and Yate)
Matt Hancock (Conservative – West Suffolk)
Greg Hands (Conservative – Chelsea and Fulham)
Mark Harper (Conservative – Forest of Dean)
Rebecca Harris (Conservative – Castle Point)
Trudy Harrison (Conservative – Copeland)
Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative – Hastings and Rye)
John Hayes (Conservative – South Holland and The Deepings)
Oliver Heald (Conservative – North East Hertfordshire)
James Heappey (Conservative – Wells)
Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative – Daventry)
Gordon Henderson (Conservative – Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Darren Henry (Conservative – Broxtowe)
Antony Higginbotham (Conservative – Burnley)
Damian Hinds (Conservative – East Hampshire)
Richard Holden (Conservative – North West Durham)
Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative – Thirsk and Malton)
Philip Hollobone (Conservative – Kettering)
Adam Holloway (Conservative – Gravesham)
Paul Holmes (Conservative – Eastleigh)
John Howell (Conservative – Henley)
Paul Howell (Conservative – Sedgefield)
Nigel Huddleston (Conservative – Mid Worcestershire)
Neil Hudson (Conservative – Penrith and The Border)
Eddie Hughes (Conservative – Walsall North)
Jane Hunt (Conservative – Loughborough)
Jeremy Hunt (Conservative – South West Surrey)
Tom Hunt (Conservative – Ipswich)
Sajid Javid (Conservative – Bromsgrove)
Bernard Jenkin (Conservative – Harwich and North Essex)
Mark Jenkinson (Conservative – Workington)
Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative – Morley and Outwood)
Caroline Johnson (Conservative – Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Gareth Johnson (Conservative – Dartford)
David Johnston (Conservative – Wantage)
Andrew Jones (Conservative – Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Fay Jones (Conservative – Brecon and Radnorshire)
David Jones (Conservative – Clwyd West)
Marcus Jones (Conservative – Nuneaton)
Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative – Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Gillian Keegan (Conservative – Chichester)
Greg Knight (Conservative – East Yorkshire)
Danny Kruger (Conservative – Devizes)
Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative – Spelthorne)
John Lamont (Conservative – Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Andrea Leadsom (Conservative – South Northamptonshire)
Edward Leigh (Conservative – Gainsborough)
Andrew Lewer (Conservative – Northampton South)
Brandon Lewis (Conservative – Great Yarmouth)
Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party – Upper Bann)
Chris Loder (Conservative – West Dorset)
Mark Logan (Conservative – Bolton North East)
Julia Lopez (Conservative – Hornchurch and Upminster)
Jonathan Lord (Conservative – Woking)
Tim Loughton (Conservative – East Worthing and Shoreham)
Craig Mackinlay (Conservative – South Thanet)
Cherilyn Mackrory (Conservative – Truro and Falmouth)
Rachel Maclean (Conservative – Redditch)
Alan Mak (Conservative – Havant)
Kit Malthouse (Conservative – North West Hampshire)
Anthony Mangnall (Conservative – Totnes)
Julie Marson (Conservative – Hertford and Stortford)
Jerome Mayhew (Conservative – Broadland)
Paul Maynard (Conservative – Blackpool North and Cleveleys)
Jason McCartney (Conservative – Colne Valley)
Karl McCartney (Conservative – Lincoln)
Stephen McPartland (Conservative – Stevenage)
Esther McVey (Conservative – Tatton)
Mark Menzies (Conservative – Fylde)
Johnny Mercer (Conservative – Plymouth, Moor View)
Huw Merriman (Conservative – Bexhill and Battle)
Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative – South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Robin Millar (Conservative – Aberconwy)
Maria Miller (Conservative – Basingstoke)
Nigel Mills (Conservative – Amber Valley)
Gagan Mohindra (Conservative – South West Hertfordshire)
Robbie Moore (Conservative – Keighley)
Anne Marie Morris (Conservative – Newton Abbot)
David Morris (Conservative – Morecambe and Lunesdale)
James Morris (Conservative – Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
Joy Morrissey (Conservative – Beaconsfield)
Jill Mortimer (Conservative – Hartlepool)
Wendy Morton (Conservative – Aldridge-Brownhills)
Kieran Mullan (Conservative – Crewe and Nantwich)
David Mundell (Conservative – Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Sheryll Murray (Conservative – South East Cornwall)
Andrew Murrison (Conservative – South West Wiltshire)
Lia Nici (Conservative – Great Grimsby)
Neil O’Brien (Conservative – Harborough)
Matthew Offord (Conservative – Hendon)
Guy Opperman (Conservative – Hexham)
Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party – North Antrim)
Mark Pawsey (Conservative – Rugby)
Mike Penning (Conservative – Hemel Hempstead)
John Penrose (Conservative – Weston-super-Mare)
Andrew Percy (Conservative – Brigg and Goole)
Chris Philp (Conservative – Croydon South)
Christopher Pincher (Conservative – Tamworth)
Dan Poulter (Conservative – Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Victoria Prentis (Conservative – Banbury)
Mark Pritchard (Conservative – The Wrekin)
Tom Pursglove (Conservative – Corby)
Jeremy Quin (Conservative – Horsham)
Will Quince (Conservative – Colchester)
Dominic Raab (Conservative – Esher and Walton)
Tom Randall (Conservative – Gedling)
John Redwood (Conservative – Wokingham)
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative – North East Somerset)
Nicola Richards (Conservative – West Bromwich East)
Angela Richardson (Conservative – Guildford)
Rob Roberts (Independent – Delyn)
Laurence Robertson (Conservative – Tewkesbury)
Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party – Belfast East)
Mary Robinson (Conservative – Cheadle)
Lee Rowley (Conservative – North East Derbyshire)
Dean Russell (Conservative – Watford)
David Rutley (Conservative – Macclesfield)
Gary Sambrook (Conservative – Birmingham, Northfield)
Selaine Saxby (Conservative – North Devon)
Paul Scully (Conservative – Sutton and Cheam)
Bob Seely (Conservative – Isle of Wight)
Andrew Selous (Conservative – South West Bedfordshire)
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party – Strangford)
Grant Shapps (Conservative – Welwyn Hatfield)
Alok Sharma (Conservative – Reading West)
Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative – Elmet and Rothwell)
David Simmonds (Conservative – Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Chris Skidmore (Conservative – Kingswood)
Greg Smith (Conservative – Buckingham)
Henry Smith (Conservative – Crawley)
Royston Smith (Conservative – Southampton, Itchen)
Ben Spencer (Conservative – Runnymede and Weybridge)
Mark Spencer (Conservative – Sherwood)
Alexander Stafford (Conservative – Rother Valley)
Andrew Stephenson (Conservative – Pendle)
Jane Stevenson (Conservative – Wolverhampton North East)
John Stevenson (Conservative – Carlisle)
Bob Stewart (Conservative – Beckenham)
Iain Stewart (Conservative – Milton Keynes South)
Mel Stride (Conservative – Central Devon)
Graham Stuart (Conservative – Beverley and Holderness)
Julian Sturdy (Conservative – York Outer)
James Sunderland (Conservative – Bracknell)
Desmond Swayne (Conservative – New Forest West)
Robert Syms (Conservative – Poole)
Maggie Throup (Conservative – Erewash)
Edward Timpson (Conservative – Eddisbury)
Kelly Tolhurst (Conservative – Rochester and Strood)
Justin Tomlinson (Conservative – North Swindon)
Craig Tracey (Conservative – North Warwickshire)
Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Conservative – Berwick-upon-Tweed)
Elizabeth Truss (Conservative – South West Norfolk)
Martin Vickers (Conservative – Cleethorpes)
Matt Vickers (Conservative – Stockton South)
Theresa Villiers (Conservative – Chipping Barnet)
Robin Walker (Conservative – Worcester)
Jamie Wallis (Conservative – Bridgend)
Matt Warman (Conservative – Boston and Skegness)
Giles Watling (Conservative – Clacton)
Helen Whately (Conservative – Faversham and Mid Kent)
Craig Whittaker (Conservative – Calder Valley)
John Whittingdale (Conservative – Maldon)
Bill Wiggin (Conservative – North Herefordshire)
James Wild (Conservative – North West Norfolk)
Craig Williams (Conservative – Montgomeryshire)
Gavin Williamson (Conservative – South Staffordshire)
Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party – East Antrim)
Mike Wood (Conservative – Dudley South)
William Wragg (Conservative – Hazel Grove)
Jacob Young (Conservative – Redcar)
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative – Stratford-on-Avon)
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