Brexit: internal market bill passes by 77 votes amid Tory party tension
2020-09-15 08:53:32 source：The Guardian
September 14, 2020
Conservative MPs fired a warning shot at Boris Johnson’s conduct of the Brexit process on Monday night, as former cabinet ministers and attorney generals withheld support for a controversial bill which will break international law.
One government source said the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, was “wobbly” and had asked for additional cabinet scrutiny of a controversial clause of the bill.
Among those who refused to support the bill on Monday were a slew of senior Conservatives, select committee chairs and QCs – most notably the former chancellor Sajid Javid and ex-attorney generals Sir Geoffrey Cox and Jeremy Wright. Others who abstained included Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, Liam Fox and Theresa May although it was unclear in some cases if people were absent on parliamentary business. May was in South Korea on a planned invitation for the World Knowledge Forum but has made clear she was unhappy at the bill’s implications. In total 30 Tory MPs abstained and two – Sir Roger Gale and Andrew Percy – voted against.
Read more: