Recess is over
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn both looked like they were having the time of their lives during the summer break, but the time for relaxing has come to an end. The last time we saw the opposing figureheads in Parliament, May had barely managed to form a government, whereas Corbyn had gained 30 seats in the general election and was prepared to offer stern opposition to the weakened Tory government. The time for speculation has now come to an end, as MPs have gathered in the House of Commons, fully rested and raring to go. The main issue that we have seen all over social media and other news platforms has been Brexit.
Britain leaving the European Union has been at the centre of every political discussion since early 2016, and that topic doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
David Davis updated parliament on the first Tuesday back, claiming that 'concrete progress' has been made in the Brexit negotiations. It seems the government has secured healthcare rights for British people living abroad, a right that allows them to access healthcare outside of the UK. Amid reports that the UK had agreed to pay the EU £50 billion, Davis was quick to suggest that no fee had been agreed for a 'divorce bill,' as some have cunningly coined it. Meanwhile, Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer is concerned about the slow progress being made by the Conservative government, a feeling that many others have also been expressing.
It seems the Labour party are not happy with what has been achieved so far, they seem to expect the Conservatives to have done much more than they have already.
The vote on the repeal bill
This will be the first topic up for debate this year, and it seems to be an important one. It seems the opposition have unanimously decided to vote against the government, in hope of preventing this bill from being passed.
The purpose of this bill, is to provide the government with astounding amounts of power that have not been seen before in a bid to ensure a 'calm and orderly' Brexit. Due to time constraints, mainly due to the delaying of this process thanks to an arduous general election campaign, it seems the UK is running out of time to complete what is needed, before the deadline in March of 2019.
To ensure that no more time is wasted, the government plans to pass a bill that will allow them to introduce laws, without the approval of parliament, to speed up the Brexit process.
Of course the laws being passed can only be related to Brexit and are only intended to save time, as opposed to debating them in parliament and wasting valuable hours that could have been spent negotiating. There is one issue, this would give the government unlimited amounts of power, allowing them to pass laws as they please. These are laws that could shape the future of the United Kingdom and allowing them this power could be potentially life changing for some.It seems that the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party will be opposing this bill, but with the the DUP strengthening May's hand, she may pass this first hurdle unscathed.
What next?
The bill is up for debate in the following days, something one wouldn't want to miss. With parliament divided on the issue of Brexit, it will be truly interesting to see what they decide when it come to this. The Labour Party has it's own divisions on Brexit, but they are still actively disagreeing with the government's plans and are outraged that their voice is not being heard. Should this bill be passed, we could enter an era of turmoil as many will feel that democracy has been opposed. No one can truly know which deal is the best for the UK, but it will undoubtedly be exciting to see how this all pans out.
