UK: Theresa May's government suffers temporary defeat on Brexit in the House of Lords

The vote of Lords can delay the plan Theresa May to activate the Brexit.

The Brexit Act - with which the government of British Prime Minister Theresa May wants to start her departure from the European Union (EU) - suffered a setback this Wednesday after the House of Lords introduced an amendment In order to protect the rights of EU citizens living in United Kingdom territory.

The original standard proposed by the government in May gave the prime minister the constitutional power to activate without any conditions Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which will be communicated officially to Brussels will of UK to leave the EU.

• The House of Commons of the United Kingdom approves the law that will allow to start the exit of the country of the European Union

Wednesday, by 358 votes for and 256 against, the Lords approved an amendment that calls on the government of London to ensure that EU citizens legally residing in the UK will be "treated in the same way as to their rights as Community "after the Brexit.
The original draft approved unchanged by the House of Commons in early February did not include any conditioning to Brexit.

• The UK Supreme Court rules that the government can not activate Brexit without consulting Parliament
• The British Parliament votes in favor of starting Brexit, the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union

The Government suffered its first defeat during the process of this bill

 The decision of Lords is the first misstep Theresa May plan to run the Brexit in early March.

Deadlines

The decision of the Lords (considered the British upper house), whose members have not been chosen in the polls and where the Executive does not have a majority, can delay the schedule predicted by the prime minister.
The changes mean that the law must return to the Commons, where most would delete the annex approved Wednesday.
This process may prevent the text from being approved with the urgency expected May.
May marked the end of March as the deadline for invoking Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon and begin the process of EU alida s.
In an attempt to stop the so-called Lords rebellion, Interior Minister Amber Rudd had sent a letter to each of the upper house members stating that the Executive intends to "treat the citizens of The EU with nothing but the greatest respect. "