We're off to the House of Lords again
The next stage of Brexit kicks off today as the House of Lords gather to begin the process on voting through the article 50 bill. This part is called the Committee Stage, and it's where each line of the bill gets voted on. The last sessions were for any changes and amendments to be put forward and they will be gathered in order and discussions will start again.
You can get a idea of the full process here but I've added the key components below.
What happens at committee stage?
During committee stage every clause of the bill has to be agreed to and votes on any amendments can take place. All suggested amendments have to be considered, if a member wishes, and members can discuss an issue for as long as they want. The government cannot restrict the subjects under discussion or impose a time limit. This is a key point of difference with procedure in the House of Commons.
What happens after committee stage?
If the bill has been amended it is reprinted with all the agreed amendments. At the end of committee stage, the bill moves to report stage for further scrutiny.
After this there's two more stages, the Reporting Stage and then the Third reading. There's no real timeline for the Committee Stage so it could drag on. As usual we'll be open to some possible headline risk but bear in mind, as I mentioned earlier today, this bill will bounce back and forth between here and the government until everyone is happy, or less unhappy with the details of the bill.
The Lords kick off at 14.30 GMT but there's some other items on the agenda before they get to the Brexit stuff.
Finally, if you have access to BBC programs, there's a documentary series starting tonight on life inside the House of Lords. Meet the Lords is on BBC2 from 21.00 GMT and it should make interesting viewing for those who want an insight into the workings of UK politics.
Off to the Lords we go
