Brexit: MPs approve Withdrawal Agreement Bill

LONDON

U.K. lawmakers on Friday passed the revised Brexit bill which paves the way for withdrawal from the EU by January 31.

In a 358 to 234 vote Friday afternoon, the House of Commons passed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to committee stage which will continue after the Christmas recess.

The bill has passed the vote easily because of the crushing majority of the Conservative Party that came after last week’s election, unlike many embarrassing votes Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered as he lacked the parliamentary majority before Dec. 12.

Today’s vote paves the way for Brexit by the end of January.

The bill will return to the House of Commons for the third reading after the committee stage and then will be sent to the House of Lords before seeking the royal assent to become law before Jan. 31.

The EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed the first stage of legislative process in October but the process was paused by Johnson when he failed to receive approval on a timetable to make it law before the previous deadline of Oct. 31.

Missing the Oct. 31 deadline and being forced to ask for an extension from the EU, Johnson had called early general election after the EU granted an extension until Jan. 31, 2020.

The House of Commons will suspend all parliamentary sessions on Friday for the Christmas recess until Jan. 7.