header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
16 September 2019 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7856 / Categories: Features , Brexit , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail

Acting up: will the government abide by the law?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

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

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London

DWF—Stephen Hickling

DWF—Stephen Hickling

Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: When saying no to mediation pays
Refusing ADR is risky—but not always fatal. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed and Sanjay Dave Singh of the University of Leicester analyse Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd: despite repeated invitations to mediate, the defendant stood firm, made a £100,000 Part 36 offer and was ultimately ‘wholly vindicated’ at trial
NLJ this week: 40 years on, has PACE lost its edge?
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
NLJ this week: Stress-testing the City
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
NLJ this week: How sure is ‘sure’ enough?
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
NLJ this week: A deferred prosecution reprieve
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll