Immigration bill is first casualty of Brexit deal defeat

A House of Commons debate on the government’s long-awaited post-Brexit immigration bill has been postponed as parliament gears up for a vote on a motion of no confidence in the government.

The second reading in the House of Commons of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) bill, which sets out the rules that would apply to all migrants coming to the UK after Brexit, including researchers and students, was originally scheduled for 16 January.

Instead, MPs will discuss the opposition’s motion of no confidence in the government, which was tabled by the Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn on 15 January after lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the government’s Brexit deal. A spokesman for the House of Commons could not confirm when the second reading of the immigration bill would take place.