U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May faces fresh difficulties getting her flagship Brexit bill through parliament after lawmakers in the upper House of Lords demanded changes to its provisions for scrutiny.
By
- Bill gives ministers unprecedented powers to deliver Brexit
- Lords committee proposes limiting those ministerial powers
The House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee said Thursday that the European Union (withdrawal) Bill, which is designed to copy EU rules and regulations into British law, should be adapted so a panel of lawmakers chooses which ones need to be approved by Parliament.
The legislation passed its first hurdle when the House of Commons approved it in principle earlier this month and would allow ministers unprecedented powers both to adapt the laws and choose which ones should be scrutinized by lawmakers.
The committee said that a Parliamentary panel should be given 10 days to overturn ministers’ decisions and refer any laws for greater scrutiny. Some members of the government fear such a move could be used to block Brexit, especially as May’s Conservatives have no majority in either chamber of Parliament.
