Britain’s House of Commons gave its final approval to a bill authorizing the government to start exit talks with the European Union. There were fears however on the opposition benches that UK is setting out on a rocky path to Brexit without a clearly drawn up roadmap. When the votes were counted, a few pro EU legislators whistled Bethoven’s hymn at the end of his ninth symphony which is the anthem of the bloc. But the victory for Brexit was decisive with 494 for and 122 against the passing of the bill. It was a solid confirmation of the referendum. The bill now goes to the House of Lords which has the power to delay but not to reject the crucial legislation. It should become law within a few weeks. Pro-Brexit conservative member Iain Duncan Smith said, “Tonight we have started the process of delivering on what the people wanted”. But Liberal Democrat leader Tim Ferron opposed the bill and wished to carry on the battle against Brexit. “In a democracy you respect the result but you do not wave the white flag and give up”, he said.
The bill is likely to come up against further challenges in the House of Lords. Pro-EU peers are appointed for life and have no worries about re-election. They may seek new amendments. But any changes they may ask for would be subject to approval by the House of Commons. So it seems that Prime Minister Theresa may now gear herself to trigger Article 50 to isolate the UK from the European Continent.
