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Chaos & confusion reign in Westminster

05 September 2019
Issue: 7854 / Categories: Legal News , Brexit , Constitutional law
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Fears of a no-deal Brexit mounted this week during a tumultuous session in Parliament. 

The prime minister lost his majority and his first vote as backbench MPs seized control of the order paper and introduced the European Union (Withdrawal) (No 6) Bill.

Michael Zander QC, Emeritus Professor, LSE, said: ‘The purpose of the Bill is to prevent a No Deal exit from the EU, though whether it would do that is not clear.’

The prime minister will opt for an election rather than ask for a Brexit extension, if the Bill passes, but needs the agreement of two-thirds of MPs to do so.

Writing in NLJ this week, Zander said: ‘At the time of writing there was a further question—would the Bill have Queen’s Consent? This is required for any bill that affects the royal prerogative. Queen’s Consent is required to be signified after the third reading in the House of Commons. It is given by a minister after authority has been obtained from the Queen on application by a Privy Counsellor.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
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