The Government has had a gruelling first fortnight, Monday seeing Theresa May narrowly win two votes on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill (formerly the Repeal Bill). It's only second reading for arguably the most significant piece of legislation ever brought before Parliament, but it’s a glimpse of the struggles May faces in passing her Brexit agenda. It’s hard to underestimate the challenge of securing an orderly exit from the EU while making progress in domestic politics – a hard task even in a two-year parliamentary term.
Ministers faced opposition over so-called “Henry VIII” clauses, discretionary powers, which critics argue give too much power to the executive. Defenders have argued that letting ministers make technical changes to a complex mass of EU-centric law is entirely sensible, enabling Westminster to focus on more important matters and highlighting ‘sunset clauses’ which remove the powers after a certain time. Still, the Government will face pressure to install contingencies that allow MPs to step-in when parliamentary scrutiny is needed.
Passing the Repeal Bill is pretty much essential to the process of leaving the EU. The prevailing wisdom is that Labour has no serious plans to prevent it from eventually becoming law, but expect heated debates when the Bill reaches Committee Stage in October.
Speaking of Committees, there’s been criticism of the Government’s move to give itself a guaranteed majority on the Public Bill Committees that conduct line-by-line scrutiny of legislation.
It’s been called an “unprecedented power grab” by some, but ministers argue it will prevent “unwarranted delay” to the process of law-making in a finely-balanced parliament.
Watch out too for action in the newly-peopled Commons Select Committees. The mammoth Exiting the European Union Committee has already launched two new inquiries to scrutinise the Government’s Brexit agenda. We can expect further pressure as other committees begin work. (The Science & Technology Committee faces scrutiny of its own, following the revelation of an all-male membership).
A symbol of this pressure is the scrapping of the public sector pay cap, meaning pay rises of more than 1% for workers like nurses and prison officers. This isn’t enough for many critics, who point out that rises won’t match increases in the cost-of-living, bringing the possibility of future strikes. There was further intrigue after the Democratic Unionist Party backed Labour in delivering a defeat to the Conservatives by forcing the Government to back down without a vote, demonstrating the fragility of Theresa May’s majority.
Working in energy, I can’t omit the week’s Contract for Difference (CfD) auction results. Announced on Monday, these saw the energy sector go into meltdown after a record amount of renewable capacity was secured and two companies bagged contracts to deliver offshore wind farms at a ‘strike price’ of £57.50/MWh. That figure makes wind cost-competitive with gas and significantly more cost-effective than Hinkley Point C. There's pressure on the Government to rethink its energy strategy – more on this when the Clean Growth Plan is published later in the year.
So much for the first two weeks, but what about Conference Season? While the Liberal Democrats start things off in Bournemouth tomorrow, it’s Labour and the Conservatives that will as ever be the most watched. Observers will be looking for tell-tale signs of Jeremy Corbyn’s position on Brexit, while whispered rumours of a ministerial reshuffle will keep all eyes on Manchester.