Democracy dies in darkness. Today I'm fighting to preserve it as Boris Johnson turns off the lights

The PM's EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill not only drives the hardest Brexit of all, it shuts MPs out of negotiations on the UK's future relationship with the EU

Trade talks don’t often make headlines, but they do an essential job: determining workers’ rights, our basic food standards, rights public services and environmental protections, and tackling the climate crisis. Overseeing the government is an MP's essential democratic duty, and few actions are more consequential than trade deals. MPs deserve a say in them – but Boris Johnson is denying them one.

The previous version of Johnson’s EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill included a clause that protected MPs’ involvement in Brexit. But when Johnson was re-elected in December with a large majority, he swiftly removed this clause.

The PM's bill, which he aims to put to a final vote in the Commons this week, not only drives the hardest Brexit of all, it also shuts MPs out of negotiations on the UK's future relationship with the EU. The House of Commons will have no oversight on the government's negotiating objectives, no right to be kept updated on the progress of negotiations, and no vote on the final deal with Brussels.

As British MPs, we are used to being denied the kind of involvement in trade deals that Members of the European Parliament take for granted. But this a new low – parliamentarians are being refused their right to scrutinise the government on one of the most important issues facing our country.

That’s why I have tabled an amendment to the bill, which I’m expecting to be put to the house today. My amendment could give MPs a vote on a future UK-EU deal, and increase transparency and scrutiny during this process. It has support from SNP, Plaid Cymru, Labour, SDLP and Alliance MPs – though no Conservatives. I know, of course, that this means it has little chance of success.

As Conservative MPs are whipped in support of the bill, they should reflect on what they are voting for. Removing parliamentary scrutiny in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill doesn’t just deliver Johnson his Brexit deal; it sets a dangerous precedent for how much oversight MPs will have of any post-Brexit trade deals, including with the US.

When chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef are forced on UK consumers in return for a UK-US trade deal, MPs may be powerless to prevent it, despite overwhelming public opposition to a lowering of our food standards and the disastrous impact it would have on UK farmers.

We are also right to fear that Donald Trump and his big pharma backers want to flood the British health system with American products, driving up drug prices. How will MPs be able to protect our NHS if they are denied oversight of trade negotiations with the US?

Democracy dies in darkness, and Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement starts to turn off the lights. He is using Brexit as an executive power-grab, side-lining MPs and evading parliamentary scrutiny.

MPs who campaigned for Leave in order to “take back control” should wake up: it's not parliament which now has control, it's the the prime minister.

Caroline Lucas is the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion