Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Tory Minority Government Seizes Control of Brexit Committees

The negotiations on Britain's departure from the EU are a slow-motion disaster. However, Britain's internal preparations for the separation are even worse, undermining the foundations of the British constitution. Since thousands of laws and regulations will have to be imported, changed and/or amended, the EU Withdrawal Bill allows them to be addressed by way of statutory instruments. SIs are the purview of standing committees, and Parliament needn't pass new Acts as a result. However, the minority government of Theresa May has just awarded itself a majority on the Brexit standing committees. If this doesn't reverse with will of the people, it certainly isn't in keeping with it.

SIs actually make great sense. In most laws, there are technical points and legal details that are best left to the experts. Having 650 MPs deal with them is simply a waste of taxpayer money. It is more effective to pass the broad brush legislation and leave the more intricate work to the standing committees responsible for that work.

Where the Tory minority government has exceeded democratic tradition is in giving itself a majority of the seats on the standing committees. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn stated, "The Tories are now rigging votes in parliament that they couldn't win at the election. Not content with grabbing powers through the EU Bill, they are fixing majorities that the public wouldn't give them."

Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael agreed, "This is a sinister power grab by an increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister. The Tories didn't win a majority at the election, but are now hijacking Parliament to try and impose their extreme Brexit on the country."

What is also troubling is that this is not a recent decision. The Tories hold power thanks to the support on a supply-and-confidence basis of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party. "The Independent revealed last week that the plan to take control of the Committee of Selection was set in motion between the Conservatives and the DUP immediately following the general election, when the Prime Minister knew instantly the loss of her majority would make it impossible to pass the Brexit legislation. 'It was all decided in discussions between the Conservative and DUP whips immediately after the election result,' a well-placed source told The Independent. 'Don't forget those whips worked hand-in-hand through the Cameron and May mark one governments. So they were always going to in May mark two as well'."

The Conservatives argue that there is historical precedent for a minority government to take a majority of seats on select committees. Commons leader Andrea Leadsom noted that the Labour minority government under James Callaghan at the end of the 1970s had majorities on such committees. She is somewhat disingenuous here, as the Callaghan government won a majority and lost it through by-elections. That's not the same as failing to start with a majority as Ms. May did.

In the end, the measure passed with 320 votes in favor and 301 against, a comfortable majority of 19. This means that the Tories will, if they stick together, be able to dictate just how Brexit proceeds through their control of the standing committees.

Downing Street argued that the motion would prevent "unwarranted delays" while creating "the fairest balance between the Opposition and Government." That is a lie. The fairest balance would deny the Government a majority. The Leave campaign feared Brussels would eventually destroy the British system. It now appears that the Brexit government could do so as well, more permanently and faster.

© Copyright 2017 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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