British Government suffers defeat as parliament backs change to Brexit bill

The British Government suffered a defeat on Wednesday when the upper house of parliament voted in favour of making an amendment to the bill governing the country’s exit from the European Union.
The House of Lords, parliament’s unelected upper house, voted 348-to-225 in favour of a change, which seeks the possibility of the nation remaining in the EU customs union after Brexit.
With less than a year to go before Britain formally leaves the EU, the thorny question of the land border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, has yet to be solved.
London has pledged to impose no new barriers to trade on the island of Ireland, while also ruling out new divisions between Northern Ireland and Britain.
Report says parliamentary opposition says the change to the bill will prevent a hard border from being set up following Brexit.
Rebel lawmakers from within British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party teamed up with the opposition to vote in favour of the change to the bill.
May has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of a second referendum on Brexit, but she has promised to consult parliament on the final deal.
The lower house of parliament can still try to overturn Wednesday’s decision in the upper house in a later legislative phase.
dpa/NAN.