Brexit won the first battle in the House of Lords

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May won the first stage of her battle with Parliament’s unelected upper chamber over her plan to trigger Brexit, but now faces a fight to pass her draft law unchanged.

After about 20 hours of debate over two days, lawmakers in the House of Lords agreed without a vote to let the European Union Bill move on to its next stage in the scrutiny process.

The draft legislation authorizing the premier to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty — starting two years of exit talks, will now move to its “committee stage” on Feb. 27, when some in May’s own ruling Conservative Party are likely to attempt to rewrite it.

“On an issue like this I just can’t go against my conscience on what I believe to be right,’’ Ros Altmann, a Conservative former minister, said in an interview.

“The government and the House of Commons do need to reconsider this blank check mandate to light the fuse on what will be a two-year time bomb.’’

May wants to launch the U.K. on the path out of the EU by invoking Article 50 by the end of March.

She tried to avoid Parliament having a say over the process but was forced to seek its consent when she lost a case at the Supreme Court in January.

Further Debates

The bill will move on to further debates next Monday and Wednesday, when legislators will consider amendments. These are likely to include moves to guarantee the rights of EU citizens to stay in the U.K. after Brexit and to ensure Parliament has a binding vote on the final departure deal.

Altmann said she wants May to give Conservatives in the Lords a “free vote’’ allowing them to follow their consciences instead of following orders to vote down any amendments to the brief, 137-word bill.

Davis and May both insist that even if they lose votes in the House of Lords over the coming weeks, they will still be able to trigger Article 50 by March 31.

Core Purpose

“This bill is not the place to put constraints on the government’s negotiating position,’’ Brexit minister George Bridges said. “This bill’s core purpose, indeed its only purpose, is to start the process of leaving the European Union.’’

Bridges warned that Brexit will not be reversed. There must be “no attempt to remain inside the EU and no attempt to rejoin it,’’. In the referendum last June, “17.4 million people picked up that little pencil and they voted to leave.’’ That was “the point of departure,’’ he told lawmakers.

The main opposition Labour Party said it will try to amend but not to block the bill.

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