The Brexit bill will be rushed through British Parliament to meet the deadline set by the government to leave the European Union.
According to the Associated Press, a tight timetable has been set for the the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill to be debated in the House of Commons for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50, which will start the Brexit process by the end of March. The move comes after a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week which required the Parliament to vote on the matter.
The judgement will see May unable to begin talks with the EU until MPs and peers give their backing - although this is expected to happen in time for the Mar. 31 deadline. However, the Supreme court had ruled that the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies did not need a say.
The Financial Times reported that the Brexit bill is very short at only five paragraphs expressing the government's intention "to withdraw from the EU". In the same article, Brexit secretary David Daviswas quoted to say that he hoped parliament would "pass the legislation quickly".
According to the Irish Times, debates on the bill are scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday. The deadline was met with angry reactions by lawmakers when it revealed that they only have three days to consider the bill, which is expected to be passed by Feb. 8. The report added that the Department for Exiting the European Union said the legislation is pretty straightforward, following the public's vote to leave the EU and the government aims to deliver its promise to realise the decision.
The FT article also said that some MPs from Prime Minister May's own Labour Party have complained about the insufficient time to scrutinise and amend the bill, which is expected to be tabled in the House of Lords by Feb. 20.
