London: Britain on Tuesday took a key step to exit the European Union as the lawmakers began debating a new bill in Parliament that will enable Prime Minister Theresa May to invoke article 50 and trigger official Brexit negotiations, as the government races to meet a self-imposed March 31 deadline.
The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill is listed for a two-day debate, with a vote scheduled tomorrow.
May's government was forced to introduce the bill after it lost a historic legal battle in the Supreme Court last week to bypass the MPs and begin the process of exiting the 28-nation economic bloc without a parliamentary vote.
However, the bill is likely to pass through as opposition Labour party is backing it, even though several of its lawmakers are planning to defy the party line and vote against it.
David Davis, minister for exiting the EU, opened the debate in the House of Commons with a clear message to MPs.
"It is not a bill about whether or not the UK should leave the EU, or how it should do so. It is simply about implementing a decision already made, a point of no return already passed. We asked the people of the UK if they wanted to leave the EU; they decided they did," Davis said.
"We are now honouring the result of the referendum, we will respect the will of the people," he added.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin on Monday, May had also said that her "message to people is very clear". "The people of the United Kingdom voted on 23 June last year. They voted in a referendum that was given to them overwhelmingly by Parliament. The people spoke in that vote. The majority voted to leave the European Union. I think it is now the job of the government to put that into practice," she said.
"I hope that when people come to look at the Article 50 Bill they will recognise it is a very simple decision: do they support the will of the British people or not," she added.
The bill, dubbed among the shortest in UK parliamentary history, was published last week after the UK government lost its legal battle in the Supreme Court, which directed May to seek Parliament's approval to trigger the official process of Britain's exit from the EU.
The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party are to vote against the Bill, but Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's whip to back the bill means the government is expected to win.
A group of May's own Conservative party rebels have also backed down after her assurance of a White Paper to be published on her Brexit plans in coming weeks.
The extent of a rebellion within the Labour party rebellion remains to be seen, with several of Corbyn's MPs including Indian-origin MP Virendra Sharma indicating they plan to defy the party whip and vote against the bill.
Two of Corbyn's shadow ministers, Tulip Siddiq and Jo Stevens, had quit the frontbench last week, saying they want to vote against the bill. If the vote goes the government's way, the bill will return to the Commons next week for thecommittee stage when Opposition parties will try to push through a series of amendments.
It will then head to the House of Lords for a debate and approval. The Lords can suggest its own amendments but it remains to be seen if they will propose any changes.
According to a report in 'The Times', the UK government wants to pass the legislation in time for May to initiate the Brexit process at a summit of European leaders in early March.
The government has told the House of Lords that it wants the new Brexit Bill approved on March 7.
All 28 heads of government from EU member states will meet on March 9 at the two-day European Council summit in Malta, giving May an opportunity to invoke Article 50 at the meeting.
