Private Members’ Bills

That:

(1) the Resolution of the House of 16 January 2020 (Business of the House (Private Members’ Bills)), as amended by the Orders of the House of 25 March, 22 April, 12 May, 10 June, 1 July and 3 November 2020 (Business of the House (Private Members’ Bills)), is further amended as follows:

leave out “8 January 2021”, and leave out “5 March 2021 and 12 March 2021” and insert “5 March 2021, 12 March 2021 and 26 March 2021”

(2) the Orders for Second Reading of Bills and for subsequent stages having precedence in accordance with Standing Order No. 14(9) on each of the days listed under Day 1 in the table below are read and discharged;

(3) each such Bill is ordered to be read a second time or to be set down for the relevant stage on the corresponding day listed under Day 2 in the table; and

(4) those Bills are so set down on the appropriate Day 2 in the order in which they were so set down on the corresponding Day 1.

—(Rebecca Harris.)

Under the order of the House agreed today, I may not adjourn the House until any message from the Lords on the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill has been received and the Speaker has reported the Royal Assent to any Act agreed upon by both Houses. The Speaker will be coming back to do that.

As Members have said, this is an historic and momentous day, and it is in so many ways, but it is ending on a message of hope with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. While 2020, as I think we can all agree without a Division, has been the most dismal year in memory, towards its end, 2021 is already looking to be a much better year—one full of hope, not just for the United Kingdom but for the entire world. May I therefore wish everybody a happy 2021?

The sitting is accordingly suspended until the House has received a message from the House of Lords about amendments to the Bill or until the Speaker is able to signify Royal Assent. I will arrange for the Division bells to be sounded a few minutes before the sitting is resumed.

Royal Assent

I have to notify the House, in accordance with the Royal Assent Act 1967, that the Queen has signified her Royal Assent to the following Act:

European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020.

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I rise to say that this is an act of constitutional vandalism. We are in the position this evening where the three devolved Parliaments—those in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast—have refused to give legislative consent. It is the practice that this House is supposed to legislate on matters that concern the devolved Administrations only with their consent. We were told in 2014 that if we stayed in the United Kingdom, our rights as European Union citizens would be respected. What has happened this evening is unacceptable to my Government in Edinburgh, to our Parliament and to the people of Scotland, because we have been taken out of a union, and out of our relationship with our historic partners in Europe, against our consent. I have long warned the Government that we in the Scottish National party would not put up with this. We understand that those in England have the right to remove themselves from the union with the European Union, but the people in Scotland did not and do not give their consent to be removed from the EU. There will be consequences to this, and tonight I give notice to this place that Scotland will have the right to determine its own future. It is historically the case that it is the people of Scotland who are sovereign, and I seek your advice, Mr Speaker, about what we have to do to make sure that the people of my country have that right and will seek their destiny as an independent member of the European Union.

What I would say is that we cannot continue the debate, as the decision has already been taken. Your comments have certainly been put on the record. I think the debate will continue in the future, but it will not continue tonight.

I would just like to put on the record my thanks to all the staff of the House of Commons. They have worked since Boxing day in order that today’s sitting could happen, and I cannot thank them enough. Thanks to the House passing the motion, they are going to get the break that they deserve—they have been working for the full week. I just want to say thank you to the Members who have given them that right to their holiday, because without the staff of the House we would not be sitting here. It really, really is appreciated—thanks for that. All the best for the new year.