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| Labour renews pressure for Brexit vote with 170 questions | Labour renews pressure for Brexit vote with 170 questions |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour has renewed pressure on ministers to set out their Brexit strategy to MPs before formal negotiations begin. | Labour has renewed pressure on ministers to set out their Brexit strategy to MPs before formal negotiations begin. |
| The party will stage a Commons debate on Wednesday on a motion calling for "proper scrutiny" of discussions. | |
| Ahead of this, Labour asked the government 170 questions on Brexit, including on trading relationships and migration rules. | |
| The government promised Parliament an "important role" in discussions. | The government promised Parliament an "important role" in discussions. |
| Ministers are facing calls to set out more detail on what they want Brexit to look like before triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty next year, allowing the country to leave the EU. | |
| Little is known so far about plans for migration and trade with the EU. | Little is known so far about plans for migration and trade with the EU. |
| Some senior politicians - including former Labour leader Ed Miliband - are demanding a full vote on the UK's negotiating stance ahead of full discussions with the EU beginning. | Some senior politicians - including former Labour leader Ed Miliband - are demanding a full vote on the UK's negotiating stance ahead of full discussions with the EU beginning. |
| But the government does not want to have its hands tied before talks and some argue it could be used as a way of undermining the result of June's referendum, in which voters chose by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. | But the government does not want to have its hands tied before talks and some argue it could be used as a way of undermining the result of June's referendum, in which voters chose by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. |
| Labour's Commons motion falls short of specifically asking for a full vote on the UK's Brexit negotiating stance. Instead, it asks for a "full and transparent" debate on the plan for leaving the organisation and for Prime Minister Theresa May "to ensure that this House is able properly to scrutinise that plan... before Article 50 is invoked". | Labour's Commons motion falls short of specifically asking for a full vote on the UK's Brexit negotiating stance. Instead, it asks for a "full and transparent" debate on the plan for leaving the organisation and for Prime Minister Theresa May "to ensure that this House is able properly to scrutinise that plan... before Article 50 is invoked". |
| The government has tabled an amendment to the motion - which Labour has accepted - stating that negotiations for Brexit must be handled in a way that "respects the decision" reached in the referendum. | |
| It adds that parliamentary scrutiny must not be allowed "undermine the [UK's] negotiating position". | It adds that parliamentary scrutiny must not be allowed "undermine the [UK's] negotiating position". |
| Labour's decision to agree to the government amendment means there might not be a vote. | |
| Analysis by Iain Watson, BBC political correspondent | Analysis by Iain Watson, BBC political correspondent |
| Ever since the referendum, the Labour leadership has been criticised by pro-EU backbenchers for not doing enough to scrutinise the government's plans for leaving the European Union. | Ever since the referendum, the Labour leadership has been criticised by pro-EU backbenchers for not doing enough to scrutinise the government's plans for leaving the European Union. |
| But now the new shadow minister for Brexit, Sir Keir Starmer - along with Emily Thornberry - seems to be making up for lost time. | But now the new shadow minister for Brexit, Sir Keir Starmer - along with Emily Thornberry - seems to be making up for lost time. |
| Although the precise number of questions is a little gimmicky, they address some issues which business leaders also want answered - for example, whether the government has decided the UK should leave the single market and if so, if it would still abide by its regulations. | Although the precise number of questions is a little gimmicky, they address some issues which business leaders also want answered - for example, whether the government has decided the UK should leave the single market and if so, if it would still abide by its regulations. |
| And a number of Conservative MPs are likely to participate in Wednesday's parliamentary debate on Brexit - also calling for more transparency from the government. | And a number of Conservative MPs are likely to participate in Wednesday's parliamentary debate on Brexit - also calling for more transparency from the government. |
| Labour's 170 questions - one for each day before the end of March, the government's self-imposed deadline for triggering Article 50 - come from the new shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, and Ms Thornberry. | Labour's 170 questions - one for each day before the end of March, the government's self-imposed deadline for triggering Article 50 - come from the new shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, and Ms Thornberry. |
| Ms Thornberry told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have a government who are about to make major decisions on behalf of this country and they want to go into a locked room and fight it out amongst themselves and come out with some plan that they want to keep secret. | Ms Thornberry told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have a government who are about to make major decisions on behalf of this country and they want to go into a locked room and fight it out amongst themselves and come out with some plan that they want to keep secret. |
| "We publish 170 questions today that we expect the government to answer, at least to have some idea about, at least to have thought about, before they go and trigger article 50." | "We publish 170 questions today that we expect the government to answer, at least to have some idea about, at least to have thought about, before they go and trigger article 50." |
| The questions challenge the government to say which possible trading models it has ruled out, how it intends to manage EU migration, whether it will guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently in the UK and how it will compensate recipients of EU grants beyond 2020. | The questions challenge the government to say which possible trading models it has ruled out, how it intends to manage EU migration, whether it will guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently in the UK and how it will compensate recipients of EU grants beyond 2020. |
| The prime minister's spokeswoman said: "We've always said that Parliament has an important role to play, and the amendment reflects that. | The prime minister's spokeswoman said: "We've always said that Parliament has an important role to play, and the amendment reflects that. |
| "But we also believe this should be done in a way that respects the decision of the people of the UK when they voted to leave the EU on 23 June and does not undermine the negotiating position of the government as negotiations are entered into... after Article 50 has been triggered." | "But we also believe this should be done in a way that respects the decision of the people of the UK when they voted to leave the EU on 23 June and does not undermine the negotiating position of the government as negotiations are entered into... after Article 50 has been triggered." |