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16 September 2019 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7856 / Categories: Features , Brexit , Constitutional law
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Acting up: will the government abide by the law?

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Michael Zander QC traces the Benn Bill’s speedy progress to the statute book
  • The European Union (Withdrawal) (No 2) Act 2019.
  • Procedure was at the heart of the battle between the promoters of the Bill and its opponents.

The European Union (Withdrawal) (No 6) Bill was introduced by Hilary Benn (Labour MP for Leeds Central, pictured) at 3.13pm on Wednesday 4 September. It received Royal Assent on Monday 9 September at 3.18pm.

From ‘No 6 Bill‘, it became ‘No 2 Act’—because it was the second Act with that name to be passed in 2019. The first, the so-called Cooper-Letwin Bill, which also was rushed through all its stages in April, required the then prime minister, Theresa May, to seek an Art 50 extension beyond 12 April 2019. In the event she ended by agreeing to an extension until 31 October. (See ‘Brexit: is MPs taking control a good or a bad thing?’ NLJ, 3 May 2019, p13).

The cross-party sponsors

The Benn Bill was a cross-party effort. The 11 sponsors included former

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