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Boris Johnson in Parliament: No closed party behind
Photo: via www.imago-images.de / imago images / Xinhua
Four former prime ministers have spoken out publicly against the law planned by Boris Johnson to subsequently change the exit agreement with the EU.
With Theresa May, John Major, Tony Blair and David Cameron, prominent politicians gave a boost to the resistance in parliament who are resisting the prime minister's plan.
Johnson's predecessor Cameron voiced his "serious concerns" about the premier's plans at the start of the week.
Previously, the ex-premiers Major and Blair had asked the MPs in the lower house to vote against Johnson's law on Monday in a joint guest article in the "Sunday Times".
This would seriously damage Britain's integrity and jeopardize the peace process in Ireland, they said.
And even Johnson's former attorney general Goeffrey Cox described his approach as "unscrupulous" and "unheard of".
The planned law, the "Internal Market Bill", is intended to enable Great Britain to unilaterally revise the Brexit treaty that has been in effect since February - which would violate international law.
The main focus is on trade in Northern Ireland.
Party colleague plans tricky change
Since Johnson's Tories have a majority of 80 MPs in the House of Commons, the prime minister can actually pass laws easily.
Actually - because there is considerable resistance against the now planned internal market law, including within his own ranks.
Numerous conservatives have announced that they will at least abstain from voting on Monday.
At least 30 conservatives also want to support an amendment that does not prevent the planned law, but would change it in such a way that the MPs would have a veto on the possible changes to the EU Treaty.
Johnson's colleague, Tory MP and former Secretary of State Bob Neil, introduced this amendment.
Neil told the Guardian that he had received “very positive feedback from conservative party colleagues”, both from supporters and opponents of Brexit.
The majority of the opposition spoke out against the law, but due to the majority situation, it cannot prevent it on its own.
Neil said he hoped their support for his change.
Labor MPs are currently looking at "details" on this.
Memories of Tory rebels
The uproar in Johnson's own camp brings back memories of the Tory rebels, who refused Johnson allegiance exactly a year ago and thus helped to prevent the no-deal for the time being.
It was then that Johnson expelled 21 of the insurgents from the faction - and unequivocally put everyone else on his course.
Tory MP Tobias Ellwood is one of those Conservatives who announced that they would not vote for the Prime Minister's law and, on the contrary, would support the amendment, despite another possibly brutal reaction from the Prime Minister.
"This is not about rebellion," the Guardian quotes Ellwood, "but about not forgetting what we stand for".
Great Britain is "one of the founding fathers of modern democracy and international law" and should "defend it instead of undermining it".
Stress with the Lords
Even if the House of Commons agreed on Monday, Johnson's law would not have been passed - in addition to further readings at committee level, the Lords of the House of Lords still have to discuss it.
Although they cannot stop a law, they can stop it several times with their veto.
And in the House of Lords there is also resistance: even before Tories in the House of Commons objected to the plans, the grandees among the Lords were loud.
In a previous debate on the bill, none of the representatives there has advocated the prime minister's plan.
"How can we accuse Russia, China or Iran that their behavior does not meet internationally accepted standards when we ourselves pay so little attention to our contractual obligations?" Warned Michael Howard, a predecessor of Johnson's party leader of the Conservatives.
The reason that Johnson's proposed law would only bring about "very specific and limited" changes to the current treaty would be used as an excuse "by dictators around the world," ranted Lord colleague Charles Falconer.
Even if the prime minister should get his law through, which is to be expected: If the amendment is also passed, the MPs could use their veto to thwart his plan to bypass the EU.
Johnson would then have to do a lot of persuading - or, as a year ago, resort to ruthless methods.
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