| Type: | Act |
| Citation: | 2020 c. 29 |
| Parliament: | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Long Title: | An Act to make provision to implement, and make other provision in connection with, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; to make further provision in connection with the United Kingdom's future relationship with the EU and its member States; to make related provision about passenger name record data, customs and privileges and immunities; and for connected purposes. |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Introduced Commons: | Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster |
| Introduced Lords: | Lord True, Minister of State for European Union Relations and Constitutional Policy |
| Royal Assent: | 31 December 2020 |
| Commencement: | 31 December 2020 |
| Status: | current |
| Original Text: | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/29/enacted |
| Legislation History: | https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-21/europeanunionfuturerelationship.html |
The European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020[1] (c. 29) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that implements the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Union and Euratom in December 2020.[2] The bill for the Act was introduced to the House of Commons by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove on 30 December 2020, with the aim of enacting the bill on the same day.[3]
The trade agreement was provisionally applied immediately after the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, with the act serving as the UK Parliament's ratification of the agreement.[4] Before the agreement comes fully into force, the English version of the treaty needed to be legally checked and tidied up ("scrubbed"), and needed to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.[5] [6]
The House of Commons was recalled from recess – the House of Lords was already sitting – to enable the legislation to be debated,[7] [8] and it was passed by 521 votes to 73.[9]
Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg put forward a motion to fast-track the bill through the House of Commons on 30 December 2020. This was criticised by Labour's Valerie Vaz, calling the decision to have limited debate "unacceptable".[10]
Patrick Grady (SNP) tabled an amendment to extend debate. It was put to a division where it was voted down by the Conservatives and Democratic Unionist Party with one Conservative MP, William Wragg, rebelling.[11] Labour abstained.
| Aye | 60 | |
| No | 362 |
Nearly all Conservative MPs and most Labour MPs voted in favour of the bill, while every other party in the Commons voted against. Tonia Antoniazzi and Helen Hayes resigned from their position on Labour's frontbench to abstain, with Bell Ribeiro-Addy being the only Labour MP to vote against the Bill:
| Future Relationship Bill Second and Third Readings | |||
| Ballot → | 30 December 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sources: UK Parliament[12] [13] | |||
A similar amendment to extend the length of debate was put forward by Lord Adonis, which was voted down. The Bill therefore completed in one day.
| EU (Future Relationship) Bill Division 1: Business of the House amendment | |||
| Ballot → | 30 December 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sources: UK Parliament[14] | |||
The European Union (Future Relationship) Bill was approved by the House of Lords on 30 December 2020, allowing the bill to be given royal assent in the early hours of 31 December.[15]