Brexit Bill faces further Lords humbling amid rocky path to Article 50

PM Theresa May's Brexit Bill faces yet another humbling in the House of Lords, this time to stop the government from diving out of the EU if no deal is reached with the bloc in what has already been a rocky road towards triggering Article 50.

Liberal Democrats and Labour reckon they have the numbers to clinch a crunch vote on Tuesday next week to ensure the lower house has a meaningful ballot on May's EU divorce terms, a report said on Friday.

The latest twist comes after Lords defied May over EU nationals' right to remain in the UK post-Brexit. It also follows May's defeats by a member of the public in both the High and Supreme Courts over her planned but now failed attempt to use Royal Prerogative to trigger Article 50.

May is expected to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March, starting an up-to-two-year countdown to Britain's EU exit.

This was the result of the Brexit vote last year, which has polarised the country along remain and leave lines. It has also seen sterling plumb embarrassing depths against a raft of other currencies, sending inflation higher and hurting the disposable income of ordinary working people.

A Labour source in the Lords told The Independent that the cross-party campaign on the issue of a meaningful vote was again likely to see May's government handsomely defeated. This was a view shared by Lib Dems leader Tim Farron, the newspaper reported.

"Theresa May must accept the strength of feeling both in the Lords and across the country. She has already faced a humiliating defeat on the Brexit bill and will face more if she refuses to make concessions," Farron told the newspaper.

The amendment to the all-too-brief Brexit Bill was tabled by Labour, and had garnered support from the Lib Dems and two independent peers, raising the probability it would be passed.

The prospect of a so-called hard Brexit potentially damaging to the UK economy in both the short and long terms has sent fears rippling through business, political and community circles, regardless of political allegiance.

Brexit Secretary David Davis told cabinet colleagues this week to prepare for a possible hard Brexit, but alleged it was still an unlikely scenario. It does, however, remain among the range of possible outcomes.

If hard Brexit did happen, UK would default to World Trade Organisation rules, something Confederation of British Industry yesterday said would open a Pandora's Box of economic consequences.

"The UK would face tariffs on 90% of its EU exports by value and a raft of new regulatory hurdles," said CBI president Paul Drechsler in a speech given Thursday night. "Let's remember these barriers would hurt firms on both sides of the Channel."

May's Brexit plans have run into public criticism this week from several well-regarded Tory icons, underscoring the acrimonious mood within her own party, which now appeared deeply fractured along Bremain and Brexit battle lines.

Among critics were former Chancellor George Osborne and former PM Sir John Major. Sir John said earlier in the week that the probability of no agreement being reached between the UK and EU was very high.

"I have watched with growing concern as the British people have been led to expect a future that seems to be unreal and over-optimistic," said Sir John.

"Obstacles are brushed aside as of no consequence, whilst opportunities are inflated beyond any reasonable expectation of delivery."

Osborne also warned earlier in the week that even trade deals with other countries around the world would not offset the loss of trade resulting from a so-called hard Brexit when leaving the EU.

"Let’s make sure that we go on doing trade with our biggest export market, otherwise withdrawing from the single market would be the biggest single act of protectionism in the history of United Kingdom," said Osborne.

Reporting by both Andrew Schonberg and Maryam Cockar