Brexit: Jeremy Corbyn proposes two-year delay to prevent no-deal
Labour's amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill is doomed to fail because of the Tories' large majority in the Commons.
Friday 3 January 2020 09:15, UK
Labour is to attempt to delay leaving the EU by two years to prevent a no-deal Brexit, despite the party's crushing defeat in last month's general election.
Jeremy Corbyn has tabled an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill being debated by MPs in the Commons next week that will lead to accusations that Labour is attempting to block Brexit.
Labour's amendment, which is doomed to fail now Boris Johnson has a Tory majority of 80 in parliament, would extend the Brexit transition period until 2023 if there is no deal by June.
As well as vowing to leave the EU on 31 January, the PM has ruled out any lengthening of the implementation phase - when the UK would still be bound by Brussels rules - beyond this year.
Labour's amendment calls on the government to seek from mid-June a two-year extension to the implementation period, which runs out at the end of December, unless certain conditions are met.
"This new clause would restore the role for parliament in deciding whether to extend transition to avoid a WTO (World Trade Organisation) Brexit," Labour says in an explanatory statement.
The amendment states: "A minister of the crown must seek to secure agreement in the joint committee to a single decision to extend the implementation period by two years, in accordance with Article 132 of the Withdrawal Agreement unless one or more condition in subsection is met.
"Those conditions are: (a) it is before 15 June 2020; (b) an agreement on the future trade relationship has been concluded; (c) the House of Commons has passed a motion in the form set out in subsection (3) and the House of Lords has considered a motion to take note of the government's intention not to request an extension."
It also calls for a government minister to move a motion in the Commons for a shorter extension to the implementation period if EU representatives on the joint committee dealing with Brexit indicate they would agree to such an arrangement, rather than a two-year extension.
The ratification of a trade agreement would also enable the UK to seek to end any extended transition period early, the amendment states.
On the last day the Commons sat before Christmas, the Withdrawal Bill was given a second reading by 358 votes to 234, a majority of 124, and the bill will complete its Commons stages in three days next week, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Other amendments tabled by Labour include a bid to protect the right for unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with their families after Brexit.
When the bill was re-introduced after the election, the government removed a commitment to strike a deal with the EU so child refugees can be reunited with their families in the UK, even after free movement ends
This led to the government being accused of reneging on a pledge given before the election, when the Tories had no Commons majority, on the so-called "Dubs amendment" allowing greater flexibility in such matters.
The previous terms, initially proposed by Lord Dubs - a former Labour MP who fled the Nazis as a boy - had been accepted by Theresa May when she was prime minister, but Mr Johnson has been accused of watering down the commitment to simply requiring a minister to "make a statement" to parliament.
On Northern Ireland, a Labour amendment seeks to require the government to deliver "full transparency on the implications of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol - including barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
The Democratic Unionist Party, which propped up Mrs May's minority government under a confidence and supply agreement, has also put forward amendments protecting the access of goods.