As parliament returns after the Christmas break, what is happening with the Brexit bill?

Gone are the knife-edge votes that dominated Theresa May’s premiership, writes Lizzy Buchan

A swath of new, supportive MPs have replaced many of the old rebels (AFP)

MPs go back to the Commons today, and one of the first items on the agenda will be Brexit. Boris Johnson’s first act after his decisive election victory was to put his withdrawal deal to MPs, who voted to give the bill its second reading with a comfortable majority.

Gone are the knife-edge votes that dominated Theresa May’s premiership and Johnson’s early days in Downing Street, where opposition MPs thwarted his efforts to secure a general election.

With an 80-strong majority – and a swath of supportive MPs replacing the old rebels – the prime minister is unlikely to face the same hurdles to his Brexit legislation, the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB).

Opposition MPs will still try to tweak the legislation over the coming days to soften the deal or attach concessions – or to hold up the legislation before the 31 January Brexit deadline.

As the clock ticks down to exit day, the government is hoping to rush the bill through the Commons by Thursday before peers scrutinise the draft legislation next week.

Today and tomorrow MPs will undertake line-by-line scrutiny of the bill – known as committee stage – where amendments can be put forward by opposition parties.

First up, there are amendments on the implementation period, including bids by Labour to extend the transition by two years to 2022 and to give parliament more involvement in the trade negotiations.

The Liberal Democrats want to attach a second referendum to the bill, while a group of Brexiteers want Big Ben to chime on 31 January to mark Britain’s departure from the EU.

There are also amendments on citizens rights and attempts to reinstate the so-called Dubs rules to allow child refugees to reunite with their families in the UK, which Johnson controversially stripped from the bill.

The speaker will select which amendments are pushed to a vote – but don’t expect any significant parliamentary clashes. On Thursday, the bill will have its report stage and third reading before passing to the Lords.

The House of Lords has earmarked seven days for consideration of the bill between 13 and 22 January, allowing time for it to receive royal assent before the UK formally leaves the EU at the end of the month.

Peers could amend the bill in the Lords but any changes would have to be approved by the Commons – making it unlikely that amendments would stick.

Johnson’s government will focus all its attention on pushing this bill through by the end of the month, to allow the UK to leave the EU at 11pm on 31 January.

If he does pull it off, remember that Brexit is far from a done deal.

A new countdown will begin in February to complete the all-important trade talks by December 2020 – or risk crashing out without a deal next year.