Allies of Kemi Badenoch say the fire of EU laws 'cannot be forced through the lords'

Kemi Badenok said on Wednesday that she could only repeal or reform about 600 EU laws immediately due to the situation she inherited. Credit: ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Kemi Badenoch's allies have dismissed Brexiteers' claims that ministers should have used special powers to fire EU law through the Lords, saying the argument is based on a misinterpretation of parliamentary procedure .

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Sir Ian Duncan Smith, a former leader of the Conservative Party, said the government could use the Parliament Act to stop the second chamber from blocking its original plan to scrap all remaining EU rules in the law book by the end of the year. .

Law allows the government to legislate without the approval of the lords, subject to certain conditions.

Sources close to Jacob Rees-Mogg, the cabinet minister in charge of reform under Boris Johnson, say it was always the plan to use those powers if needed to get the bill passed.

Ministers could threaten to use law — and end up using it as a last resort — if the Lords insisted on amendments. not acceptable to the House of Commons.

But allies of Ms Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, said the powers could only be used to circumvent final approval by the second chamber if it blocked the proposed law in two successive parliamentary sessions.

With the current due to end in the fall, they added that there is little chance of fulfilling these conditions before the end of the year.

The government could organize a «mini-session» to trigger two lockdowns by the Lords before the end of 2023, allowing it enforce the Parliament Act.

But Ms Badenoch's allies said it could be devastating. Rishi Sunak's broader agenda as the window of opportunity for any other bills carried forward from the previous session will be drastically reduced.

Critics say the government has now sacrificed any hope of using the Act as a deterrent to an obstacle in the Lords, since powers can usually only be used to enforce legislation, unchanged between sessions.

«Panic and inexperience»

Sir Ian said the decision to amend the bill, which includes removing the promised clause to expire all laws carried over from the EU by the end of the year, looks «weak and panicky» on the part of ministers.

» It doesn't matter if we face amendments in the House of Lords; it has always been the case that we will have to use the Parliament Act,” he said.

“Now we cannot do this if they interfere. So, we have an overall majority in the Commons sacked by a panicked and inexperienced cabinet minister, and Downing Street politically adrift after poor local election results. This is a gift from the Labor Party.”

On Wednesday, Ms Badenoch announced that she could only immediately repeal or reform about 600 EU laws due to the situation she inherited.

>The downgrade comes despite Mr. Sunak's pledge to abolish all rules remaining in the statute book by the end of the year.

Mr. Rees-Mogg accused ministers of inertia and said the «drop» had triumphed .