British lawmakers to debate Bill on triggering Brexit

British MPs are due to spend two days debating a draft law allowing the government to begin Brexit talks, which was published last week, after the Supreme Court ruled parliamentary approval was needed before negotiations with Brussels could begin.

The two-clause European Union Notification of Withdrawal Bill asks parliament to give the Prime Minister the power to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, formally starting divorce proceedings with Brussels.

Ahead of the debate Prime Minister Theresa May said lawmakers should back the Brexit bill in order to implement the June referendum outcome in which 52% voted to leave the bloc.

"Do they support the will of the British people or not?" she said of MPs during a press conference in Dublin on Monday.

“My message to people is very clear. The people of the United Kingdom voted on the 23 June last year, they voted in a referendum that was given to them overwhelmingly by parliament. Six to one parliament voted. The people spoke in that vote, and the majority voted to leave the European Union, the job of the government is to put that into practice.”

The governing Conservatives have a majority of 16 in the 650-seat lower House of Commons and the draft law is expected to pass, despite five amendments having been tabled.

They cover areas including Britain's membership of the European single market, which May said would end once the country leaves the EU.

There are also calls to have greater involvement from the devolved parliaments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the latter two of which voted for Britain to remain in the EU.

The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party are to vote against it, but Labour's leadership is backing it, meaning the government is expected to win.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has ordered his MPs to vote with the government, but some are expected to defy him.

Two shadow ministers have quit, saying they want to vote against it.

Former Conservative Chancellor Ken Clarke has also said he will vote against the Bill.

If the vote goes the government's way, the Bill will return to the Commons next week for the committee stage when opposition parties will try to push through a series of amendments.