David Gauke Profile picture
Sep 13, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Brandon Lewis said of the Internal Market Bill “this does break international law”. Not “it creates the potential to break international law” or “we might break it in an emergency but we’re not yet breaking it”. He said “this does break international law”.
If taking the power to override a treaty is in itself a breach of international law (which is implicit in what Brandon Lewis said), additional safeguards on the exercise of any such power (such as requiring a Commons vote) doesn’t stop it being a breach of international law.
Sir Jonathan Jones’ email to GLD officials says that ‘certain provisions of the Bill ... are contrary to the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU’. (He also uses the phrase ‘notwithstanding the breach of international law’.) So his view is that taking the powers is itself a breach. Image
Arguments that international law is only breached when the powers in the Bill are exercised is inconsistent with what a Minister - reading from a prepared script - has already told the Commons and the view of the Govt’s most senior lawyer.
So if you’re concerned about the UK deliberately breaching international law (with all the implications for our international reputation and the rule of law), a Commons veto on the exercise of the powers under Part 5 of the Internal Market Bill won’t address your concerns.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Government accepts the Neill Amendment. But the Internal Market Bill would still be in breach of international law and any MP voting in support of the relevant provisions would be condoning that.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with David Gauke

David Gauke Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @DavidGauke

Oct 21, 2022
If Boris Johnson became PM again, given the views of many Tory MPs, this is what I'd be tempted to say if I was Keir Starmer or Ed Davey: "The PM is not fit for office. Nor is the Tory Party. We know that many honourable Tory MPs feel the same way. Now is the time for...' 1/
'... all MPs who put the national interest first to come together & force a General Election. It is a lot to ask Tory MPs to do this but, because this is a national emergency, we are prepared to make a bold & generous offer...' 2/
'We say to those Tory MPs with majorities bigger than [10,000], who are motivated by national interest & not just saving their seat, that if they vote with us in supporting a GE, we will not stand against them in their seats if they run as independents.' 3/
Read 5 tweets
Sep 28, 2022
The people who dismissed the risks of Truss's fiscal policy causing a market meltdown were largely the same people who dismissed the economic risks of a No Deal Brexit. Not a coincidence.
The Conservative Party is lost in a fantasy world no longer able to comprehend reality. Unless it makes a rapid recovery, it will continue to be a danger to itself and the country as a whole - @NewStatesman. newstatesman.com/comment/2022/0…
Read 4 tweets
Aug 5, 2022
It’s clear that more support is going to be needed beyond what has already been announced. Relying only on tax cuts has a number of problems. /1
First, & most obviously, tax cuts will be badly targeted. The poor don’t pay income tax or NICs & would benefit least in cash terms from a VAT cut. If we’re borrowing to protect living standards (which we shd only do in exceptional circumstances) it shd be to help the poorest. /2
Second, if we’re worried about the long term sustainability of the public finances, help needs to be temporary & therefore reversible. One off handouts are much easier to reverse than tax cuts. It’ll be very difficult for a Tory Govt to put up taxes when energy prices fall. /3
Read 5 tweets
May 26, 2022
If senior officials fail to challenge the Prime Minister, he will further contaminate the culture of the civil service just as he has contaminated the culture of the Conservative Party. My latest piece for @NewStatesman.
newstatesman.com/comment/2022/0…
There are some details to this story that should not be overlooked. It is reported that Johnson was 'apoplectic' at reports that Gray was going to criticise him, the No 10 Perm Sec arranged a Johnson/Gray meeting but No 10 briefs that Gray instigated it.
Sue Gray should've been protected from any such meeting (where the PM reportedly questioned the need to publish her report). Nor should the No 10 press office have briefed that Gray instigated the meeting when senior officials knew this was untrue.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 18, 2022
Here's how being a Minister works when you have to make a policy decision. You get a written submission from officials setting out the issue & the possible policy responses with pros & cons & recommendations. Political advisers will also see the submission & feed in thoughts. /1
Assuming that the matter is important and/or complex, you'd hold a meeting with officials & political advisers. This gives you a chance to question officials to make sure you understand the implications of the choices - the likely criticisms, hard cases, boundary issues etc /2
Having gone through this process & concluded that you were in a position to make an informed decision, you'd decide what to do. You won't get every decision right but for every big decision you'll have given it plenty of thought. /3
Read 5 tweets
Dec 11, 2021
There are many reasons why Conservative MPs should think that Boris Johnson is unsuitable to be PM. But it’s curious his biggest difficulty with Tory MPs is a policy - putting in place measures to reduce the spread of Omicron - that is popular & right. newstatesman.com/politics/conse…
If there’s an imminent leadership election, candidates will compete with each other as to who can be most sceptical about restrictions, even though the public takes a different view. Almost regardless of the circumstances & scientific advice, a new PM will have their hands tied.
The scale of the PM’s problem with his Parliamentary party over COVID rules will likely depend on what happens with Omicron. If the news is bad, much of the criticism will disappear. If the news is good & it’s much milder, his critics will say he got it wrong & they were right.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(