The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019 (c. 16), commonly referred to as the Cooper–Letwin Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provisions for extensions to the period defined under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union related to the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. It was introduced to the House of Commons by Labour MP Yvette Cooper and Conservative MP Sir Oliver Letwin on 3 April 2019, in an unusual process where the Government of the United Kingdom did not have control over Commons business that day.
The act was repealed on 23 January 2020 by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.
Provisions Section 1 of the act required the government to allow Parliament to debate a motion to require the prime minister to seek an extension to the period in which the United Kingdom is to negotiate the terms of its withdrawal from the European Union ("Brexit") under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union. The motion must have been moved on the day the act received royal assent or on the next day, so 8 or 9 April 2019. If Parliament passed the motion then the prime minister was legally obliged to comply with it and seek an extension to a date chosen by Parliament (although the extension must still be agreed to by the EU).
Section 2 streamlined the procedure for amending UK law to reflect the new date for "exit day", the date on which the UK was to leave the EU.
Legislative history House of Commons First and Second Readings The act was originally introduced to the House of Commons as the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 5) Bill on 3 April 2019, on a day when some of the normal standing orders of the House were suspended to prevent Government business taking precedence over business that other Members of Parliament might wish to undertake. As such, Sir Oliver Letwin tabled a motion which would allow MPs to undertake proceedings on the second, committee, and third reading of the Bill in one day. The motion was passed by one vote.
The UK government opposed the bill at all stages throughout its passing in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The second reading passed by 5 votes, after closing remarks given by Steve Barclay, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, making clear the Government's opposition to the Bill.
Business of the House motionSecond Reading Ballot → 3 April 2019 Ballot → 3 April 2019 Aye Aye No No Abstentions Abstentions Sources: CommonsVotes Sources: CommonsVotes
House of Commons committee stage During the committee stage, a number of amendments were tabled for the bill, of which four went to a division:
List of Commons amendments to European Union Withdrawal (No. 5) BillAmendmentName of proposerPurposeStatus13Yvette CooperTechnical amendment to correct printing errorAgreed14Amendment to clarify references to European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018Agreed20George EusticeTo ensure that the Bill would not permit an extension of the Article 50 period later than 30 June 2019Not called21To remove the requirement for the Prime Minister to put any counter-offer of an Article 50 extension date by the European Union to a debate and vote in ParliamentRejected.22Steve BarclayTo ensure that nothing in the Bill could rule out the Government extending Article 50 in a different wayRejected.1Anne MainTo ensure that the Bill would not permit an extension to the Article 50 period later than 22 May 2019Rejected.6Bill CashTo ensure that any extension is subject to the agreement of the devolved assembliesNot calledNC4An additional clause to the Bill that would have prevented Parliament from tabling amendments to any future motion under Section 1 of the Bill that change or suspend the standing orders of the House of CommonsRejected.NC5An additional clause to the Bill to ensure that any motion on extension be limited to no later than 22 May 2019Not calledNC7An additional clause to the Bill to prevent an extension in the event of the United Kingdom taking part in the 2019 European Parliament electionNot calledNC13Steve BarclayAn additional clause to the Bill to ensure that any date limits in domestic legislation match the Article 50 extension dateAgreed Amendment 21 Amendment 22 Amendment 1New Clause 4 Ballot → 3 April 2019 Ballot → 3 April 2019 Ballot → 3 April 2019 Ballot → 3 April 2019 Aye Aye Aye Aye No No No No Abstentions Abstentions Abstentions Abstentions Sources: CommonsVotes Sources: CommonsVotes Sources: CommonsVotes Sources: CommonsVotes
House of Commons Third Reading As there was no report stage, the House of Commons debated and voted on the third reading of the bill after the committee stage.
Third Reading Ballot → 3 April 2019 Aye No Abstentions Sources: CommonsVotes
The bill was accepted on its third reading by a difference of a single vote once again. The approved Cooper-Letwin bill having passed through the House of Commons subsequently passed the following day to the House of Lords.
House of Lords First and Second Readings Having passed the House of Commons, the bill was introduced into the House of Lords by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town the following day, 4 April 2019. The debate on the bill was preceded by Lady Hayter introducing a motion to compress the process for having the legislation passed into a single day's sitting through the suspension of two of the House's standing orders:
Standing Order 46 (No two stages of a Bill to be taken on one day) be dispensed with to allow the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 5) Bill to be taken through all its stages this day. Standing Order 39 (Order of Business) be dispensed with to enable that Bill to be considered after the motions on Economic Affairs Committee reports in the name of Lord Forsyth of Drumlean.
However, a number of Conservative Party peers laid down motions to amend the original business motion, which was regarded as a filibuster attempt, with the tacit approval of the Government, to prevent the Bill passing through the House. Despite a total of seven motions put forward to amend Baroness Hayter's original business motion, which had to be debated and voted on, the original motion eventually passed allowing the Bill to be introduced at First Reading and passed to Second Reading the same day.
List of Business motion amendmentsName of proposerYesNoLord Forsyth of Drumlean94254Lord Forsyth of Drumlean123251Lord True122248Baroness Noakes106234Viscount Ridley104223Lord Robathan61238Lord Hamilton of Epsom62235
However, the Second Reading debate did not begin until after 7.00pm that night, which led it not being able to pass through all stages on the same day, with instead the Bill passing Second Reading to the Committee Stage to be taken up the following Monday.
House of Lords committee and report stages Committee Stage began on the afternoon of 8 April 2019 with a total of 8 proposed amendments, but only a single division on whether Clause 2 of the Bill ("Procedure for ensuring domestic legislation matches Article 50 extension") should remain:
List of Lords amendments to European Union Withdrawal (No. 5) BillAmendmentName of proposerPurposeStatus1Lord RookerTo ensure that the House of Commons was able to debate the Bill the next dayAgreed2To allow a motion extending Article 50 to be tabled on the day after royal assentAgreed3To allow any Minister rather than just the Prime Minister to move the motion extending Article 50Agreed4Baroness Neville-RolfeTo place a restriction on the date of departure to not later than the end of FY 2019/20Withdrawn5Lord GoldsmithTo remove the requirement for a motion to be put to the Commonsin the event that the European Council makes a proposalAgreed6Baroness DeechNot Moved7Lord PannickAny extension to Article 50 cannot end before 22 May 2019, unless any withdrawal agreement comes into forceAgreed8Baroness NoakesThe Act ceases to have effect on the day of the UK's exitWithdrawn Sources: Hansard Clause 2 Ballot → 8 April 2019 Content Not Content Abstentions Sources: Hansard
Following the Committee Stage, there was an official Report Stage, noting merely that the report on the Bill had been received.
House of Lords Third Reading With the Committee and Report Stages completed, the Bill moved to Third Reading, when it was passed without a vote and returned to the House of Commons.
Commons vote on Lords amendments and royal assent Having passed through the House of Lords, the bill returned to the House of Commons for a vote on the five amendments passed by the Upper House late on 8 April. Amendments 1 and 4 were agreed to, while amendments 2, 3 and 5 were voted on in a division, as was a new amendment placed by Sir William Cash.
List of Lords amendments to European Union Withdrawal (No. 5) BillAmendmentOriginal LordsAmendmentPurposeStatus11To ensure that the House of Commons was able to debate the Bill the next dayAgreed22To allow a motion extending Article 50 to be tabled on the day after royal assentAgreed33To allow any Minister rather than just the Prime Minister to move the motion extending Article 50Agreed45To remove the requirement for a motion to be put to the Commons in the event that the European Council makes a proposalAgreed57Any extension to Article 50 cannot end before 22 May 2019, unless any withdrawal agreement comes into forceAgreedAmendment (a) to Amendment 5Any extension to Article 50 cannot end after 22 May 2019, unless any withdrawal agreement comes into forceRejected
Lords Amendments 2 and 3 Amendment (a) to Lords Amendment 5 Lords Amendment 5 Ballot → 8 April 2019 Ballot → 8 April 2019 Ballot → 8 April 2019 Aye Aye Aye No No No Abstentions Abstentions Abstentions Sources: CommonsVotes Sources: CommonsVotes Sources: CommonsVotes
Having been passed by both Houses of Parliament, the bill achieved royal assent later that evening.
Motion under the act
On 9 April 2019, the House of Commons debated a motion under the terms of the act put forward by the Prime Minister, requesting approval for the UK to seek an extension to the Article 50 process to 30 June 2019.
Motion under section 1 to June 30 Ballot → 9 April 2019 Aye No Abstentions Sources: CommonsVotes
This vote passed with a large majority of 310 votes.
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