Despite deep disquiet even from some members of the ruling Conservatives, the House of Commons passed a bill to regulate the UK internal market following Brexit by 340 votes to 256.
Senior minister Michael Gove said the bill was"vitally important" to ensure smooth trade among the UK's four constituent nations, dismissing vociferous objections from Scottish pro-independence MPs as"stories to scare children at bedtime".
The legislation now passes to the upper House of Lords, where it faces opposition after the government admitted that key clauses will violate Britain's EU divorce treaty, by unilaterally imposing post-Brexit controls on Northern Ireland.Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government defused a bigger revolt in the Commons after agreeing that parliament, rather than ministers, will have the final say on triggering the treaty-breaking clauses.
Failure to reach a deal would put EU and UK relations on minimum standards set by the World Trade Organisation and cause a severe shock to their interdependent economies. The trade talks have continued despite Britain refusing to back down on its internal market bill, which overrides parts of the Brexit treaty that Johnson struck with the EU last year.
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