Labour’s chief whip has written to Government chief whip Mark Spencer in a “highly unusual step” to claim MPs have not been given enough time to scrutinise the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
In a letter shared on Twitter by the Labour whips office, opposition chief whip Nicholas Brown wrote: “Given the huge public interest in the arrangements for the scrutiny of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill before the House today, I am taking the highly unusual step of writing to you and placing this letter in the public domain.
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“I was disappointed that despite common practice, there was no negotiation or attempt through the usual channels by the Government to seek an agreement for an appropriate timetable to scrutinise this vitally important piece of legislation. The current timetable does not provide for sufficient scrutiny of the legal text of your deal.
The current timetable does not provide for sufficient scrutiny of the legal text of the Brexit deal.
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) October 22, 2019
Labour remain available to seek to agree a consensus on a timetable to scrutinise this deal that would command the support of all sides of the House. pic.twitter.com/SlKYIqvnaT
“As you know, the Withdrawal Agreement Bill was only introduced at 7:30pm last night. This was the first time that a Withdrawal Agreement Bill has been published. The bill along with the supporting documentation runs to 435 pages. The Independent Regulatory Policy Committee says that it cannot provide a firm conclusion on the bill because of insufficient and rushed evidence from the Government.
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“No parliamentarian seeking to properly scrutinise and improve such a vital piece of legislation could agree to support the Government’s proposed programme motion.
“I remain available at any point to seek a consensus with you on a programme motion that would command the support of all sides of the House.”
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