Members of the House of Lords will be urged to back a referendum on the terms of any Brexit deal, including giving the public the option of remaining in the European Union.
In an amendment to the government’s EU (Withdrawal) Bill, to be tabled today, peers will be asked to defy the Commons and give the final decision on Britain’s future relationship with the bloc to the people.
The legislation, which would end the supremacy of EU law, starts its passage through the Lords today and is expected to face criticism from pro-European peers. The bill is likely to be substantially amended before it returns to the Commons in May.
The amendment on a second referendum has been tabled by Lord Adonis, the former Labour minister who is a member of a campaign to reverse Brexit. While it is not expected to be put to a vote during the two days of its second reading it is likely to emerge as a key demand of pro-European peers in the spring when the Lords considers other amendments.
If Labour reversed its policy on a second referendum and backed it there would then be a showdown in the Commons in May.
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Lord Adonis said that the issue of who approved the terms of Brexit was “the fundamental issue” of the whole debate. “As things currently stand parliament will be asked to approve of the terms any deal the government negotiates,” he said.
“This causes a democratic problem. MPs who don’t like the deal on offer will be accused of trying to reverse the will of the people and will be under huge pressure not to reject it. But by giving the public the final say on the terms of the deal that argument falls away.”
He added that while parliament would set the terms of a second referendum vote it was unlikely that it would be a vote between a deal and leaving the EU with no agreement at all.
“Aside from Jacob Rees-Mogg and a small handful of hardline Brexiteers there is not a majority in the Commons for anything like that,” he said.
A Labour source suggested that if Lord Adonis did push his amendment to the vote at this stage he would lose, but the source did not rule out a similar amendment being successful at report stage in late April.
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Labour is planning to support about 20 amendments in the Lords, meaning there is a real chance of government defeats with the support of crossbench and Lib Dem peers.
These include the role for parliament in the event of no deal, enhanced protection for EU-derived rights and removing the government’s Brexit day.
