The Commencement Order for section 1 of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 has just been published. The Order brings into force the provision of the Act which repeals the European Communities Act 1972 on 'exit day': ow.ly/KNAc50vBFvB
The Minister made (signed) the Order on Fri (16th) & it came into force on Sat (17th). The Order only brings into force s.1 of EU(W)A 2018. Three previous Commencement Orders have already brought other parts of EU(W)A 2018 into force (= why this Order is 'Commencement No. 4'). 2/
The fact that s.1 of EU(W)A 2018 is now in force does *not* mean that the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 has now happened. S.1 of EU(W)A 2018 says that the ECA is repealed on 'exit day'. 'Exit day' is still defined in a separate Statutory Instrument as 31 Oct. 3/
Under EU(W)A 2018 s.20(3) & (4), a minister could make (a) further Statutory Instrument(s) changing the definition of 'exit day' again, if the date on which the EU Treaties cease to apply to the UK (i.e. the date on which the UK leaves the EU) changes from 31 Oct. 4/
On the parliamentary scrutiny side, it is entirely normal & uncontroversial for Commencement Orders like this latest one to be made (signed) by ministers without parliamentary involvement: without such Orders, Acts that Parl has by definition OK-ed could not enter force. 5/
The longstanding concerns we (& others) have re: inadequate parliamentary scrutiny of Statutory Instruments (esp. in Commons) are not around Commencement Orders but around SIs with substantive policy content (which sometimes include those that amend Acts of Parliament). /ends
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Today MPs will debate a special kind of Statutory Instrument known as a Remedial Order, in relation to the Northern Ireland Troubles.
What is a Remedial Order, and what unique parliamentary procedure does it face? 🧵
Under the 1998 Human Rights Act, a court may declare a legislative provision to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
If that happens, the Government may then make a 'Remedial Order' to amend the legislation and bring it into compliance with the ECHR.
In 2024, the High Court declared a number of provisions of the 2023 Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act incompatible with the ECHR, including proposals to provide immunity from criminal & civil claims.
The Government then began the Remedial order process.
🧵 1/ What will happen this morning in the Second Reading debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Kim Leadbeater? The thread below explains the procedural mechanics and political choreography to help you navigate events in the Chamber.
2/ The Speaker is likely to make a statement at the start (9:30am), setting out how he plans to manage the debate: (i) giving an indicative time limit for speeches, whilst making clear that he reserves the right to impose a time limit, if necessary, as a last resort.
3/ And (ii) whether he has selected the ‘reasoned amendment’ in the name of Ben Spencer MP. If not, he is not obliged to give a reason but may do so to aid understanding of his approach.
🧵 This evening at 7pm MPs will be asked to approve £1.04 TRILLION of government spending (known as the Main Estimates) without debate. Parliament once fought a civil war over control of government expenditure. So why is this expenditure not being debated by MPs?
The timing of the General Election is the reason. These Main Estimates are the departmental expenditure plans of the previous Conservative Government not the new Labour one. Normally, the Estimates are presented to Parliament in April for approval by the @HouseofCommons in July.
@HouseofCommons However, they were not published before the General Election was called in May. So the new Government published them last week and scheduled the approval vote for today. If it had not done so then departments would start to run out of money in the coming weeks.
🧵 The Official Opposition previously held 70-74% of opposition seats following recent general elections. Now the Conservative Party holds just 53%. As it's smaller than its predecessors should its rights and responsibilities as the Official Opposition be adjusted accordingly? 1/
20 days are allotted each Session for debates chosen by opposition parties. 17 of these are reserved for the Leader of the Opposition & 3 to the second-largest party of opposition. But by convention they are expected to give some of their 3 days to the other ‘smaller’ parties. 2/
This 17:3 distribution is no longer proportional. 11 days to the Official Opposition (the Conservatives), 6 to the second largest party (the Lib Dems), 1 to the third largest party (SNP), and 2 days divided among the ‘other’ parties would be more equitable. 3/
Now the Speaker's election & Approbation is completed, MPs will be invited to the table of the House of Commons to take either an Oath or a solemn Affirmation to the King. 2/
The first to swear-in will be the Speaker, followed by the Father of the House, Prime Minister, Cabinet, Shadow Cabinet, Privy Counsellors and other ministers. Other MPs will then follow in order of seniority in the House. 3/