House of Lords

A former Tory leader has led the calls for the government to “think again” over its controversial Brexit legislation as the peers plan to strip out powers that enable ministers to break international law. Brexiteer Lord Howard of Lympne is one of the rebels planning to remove the contentious parts of the UK Internal Market Bill, […]

Opposition peers have accepted government assurances over post-Brexit food standards after MPs continued to overturn their amendments to the Agriculture Bill. Ministers have pledged to offer increased parliamentary scrutiny of free trade agreements to ensure consistency of standards on human health, animal welfare and the environment. The Trade and Agriculture Commission, which represents UK farmers, retailers and consumers, […]

Lord Kilclooney has been criticised for describing US vice president-elect Kamala Harris solely as “the Indian”. The former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) deputy leader was ordered to apologise and retract his tweet about Harris, who is the first black and Asian-American person to be elected to the role. The crossbench peer, who previously deleted a tweet […]

Boris Johnson will not back down over the Internal Market Bill, despite it threatening to create early tensions with US president-elect Joe Biden, a cabinet minister has claimed. Environment secretary George Eustice said the government would reinstate controversial clauses that enable ministers to break international laws if Lords try to strip them out. Biden warned […]

The UK is on the verge of becoming a “broken kingdom”, a senior Tory has warned in the House of Lords. Lord Cormack said the government underestimated “at its own potential peril, just what dangers surround us” post-Brexit. He said the Westminster parliament could not behave as if it was the only legislative body in […]

A business minister has sparked concerns about pig semen after his comments on post-Brexit border checks within the UK. Conservative frontbencher Lord Callanan was replying to a question from Labour’s Lord Rooker about how measures in the government’s Brexit legislation would affect pig semen imports, telling the Lords: “I was slightly struggling to understand the relevance […]

A peer told of the “mounting panic” his family had faced ahead of school holidays when he was a child as he shared his experiences of receiving free meals, as he slammed the “Etonians” in parliament who would not recognise that feeling. Labour’s Lord Griffiths of Burry Port told the House of Lords: “I was […]

Powers enabling ministers to break international law could be stripped from controversial Brexit legislation by peers within days. The UK Internal Market Bill is undergoing detailed line-by-line scrutiny in the House of Lords, and is currently scheduled for four days of consideration at committee stage. The legislation sets out the way that trade within the […]

A Eurosceptic MP has said Boris Johnson should consider cutting ties with the Church of England after his Brexit bill was heavily criticised by senior figures of the church. Former European Research Group chair Steve Baker said the prime minister should think about “paving a motion on the disestablishment of the Church of England” following opposition […]

Former House of Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd has delivered a devastating assessment of Boris Johnson’s government in a speech in the House of Lords. Baroness Boothroyd, who previously said she could not trust Johnson to even run a bath, said in 47 years in parliament she has “never seen trust in a government fall so far […]

The government’s controversial new Brexit legislation could set “a disastrous precedent” if passed in its current form, the UK’s archbishops have warned in a rare joint letter. The five senior church leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said the decisions implemented in the UK Internal Market Bill would “profoundly affect” the relationship between […]

John Sentamu is expected to get a life peerage imminently, it has emerged, after the government was accused of “institutional prejudice” over Britain’s first black archbishop not being automatically ennobled. It was expected that Sentamu, 71, who retired as the Archbishop of York on June 7, would be given a life peerage so he could […]

A renewed bid to secure the continuation of free movement with the EU as part of future trade links has been launched by peers at Westminster. The government has been pressed in the House of Lords to hammer out a so-called “mobility framework” with Brussels. The Liberal Democrat-led call came during the committee stage in […]

A Tory minister has claimed that businesses have their “head in the sands” over the impact that Brexit will have on their companies. Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnet said “it’s their businesses at stake” if they fail to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31. Agnew said that businesses had […]

The UK’s professional services industry is at risk of losing £225 billion in value because of Brexit, a parliamentary committee has warned. A report by the House of Lords’ EU services subcommittee, published on Tuesday, said Britain’s professional firms – including accountants, lawyers, and recruiters – have largely been ignored in negotiations with the EU. MORE: More than […]

Farmers are to hold a protest outside parliament to make their voices heard over the threat of Brexit deals to their livelihoods as MPs prepare to vote on the government’s Agriculture Bill. In a warning to the risk of Brexit to food standards, farmers will assemble at New Covent Garden from 1pm on Monday as […]

Boris Johnson has been compared to a school teacher losing control of the class by members of his own party in the House of Lords. A ban on singing, mingling and dancing in groups of more than six in pubs and restaurants came under fire in the House of Lords during a debate on the limits […]

Labour peer and former child refugee Alf Dubbs has criticised the rhetoric of home secretary Priti Patel. Earlier in the week the former MP, born in Prague in 1932, defeated Patel in the House of Lords with his amendments to the minister’s immigration bill. Speaking to the New Statesman, Dubbs said he despised the atmosphere […]

A former Brexit Party MEP who has refused to apologise for historical support of the IRA bombing in Warrington that killed two children has taken her seat in the House of Lords. The appointment of Claire Fox to the unelected chamber has sparked controversy, with Labour branding it “an insult to the people of the […]

Former Labour MP Gisela Stuart, who supported “no change” for EU citizens after Brexit, has supported the Tory’s immigration bill in the House of Lords. The newly-elevated peer, a former leader of the Vote Leave campaign, had previously signed a statement saying: “There will be no change for EU citizens already lawfully resident in the […]

Priti Patel’s immigration bill has suffered a setback in the House of Lords after peers inflicted a number of defeats on the bill that will end EU freedom-of-movement rules in the UK. The Lords has demanded a series of changes to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, including to ensure continued help for […]

Brexiteer and former cricketer Sir Ian Botham has taken his seat in the House of Lords. Baron Botham, more used to the surroundings of Lord’s Cricket Ground, wore the traditional scarlet and ermine-trimmed robe for the brief formal introduction ceremony. The clerk referred to him as Baron Botham of Ravensworth after his home village. The […]

Peers will make a fresh attempt to block cheap US food imports such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef if Boris Johnson refuses to make concessions to Tory rebels. The House of Lords is currently debating stricter laws to govern food production after Brexit. However, critics – including several Tory rebels – fear that the […]

The government has been defeated by peers demanding a ban on the use of pesticides in its flagship Agriculture Bill for farming standards after Brexit. The House of Lords voted by 276 to 228, majority 48, for a cross-party amendment to require the Secretary of State to outlaw the use of chemicals close to the public, aimed […]