Former education secretary Justine Greening has warned that young people will undo Brexit if the government strikes a deal against their interests, as MPs voted the EU withdrawal bill through to its next stage in the Lords.
Greening said leaving the EU would only be sustainable if it worked for young people, suggesting they could mobilise in future against a hard Brexit.
She made her first intervention from the backbenches as MPs debated the final House of Commons stage of the crucial legislation, which will transpose EU law into UK law after Brexit.
Greening, who was sacked as education secretary after she refused to move to become work and pensions secretary, told MPs: “I represent a very young constituency here in London.
“The bottom line is that looking ahead if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable. When they take their place here they will seek to improve or undo what we’ve done and make it work for them.
“So we do absolutely have a duty in this House to look ahead and ensure that whatever we get is sustainable and works for them.”
Her warning comes at a time when the Conservatives are trying to increase their appeal to young people, who overwhelmingly voted for Jeremy Corbyn at the last election and are far more pro-Europe than older voters.
Asked about Greening’s comments, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Theresa May was “determined to deliver a Brexit deal which works for all sections of society, of course that includes young people, and a deal that works for all parts of the United Kingdom.”
The EU withdrawal bill cleared the House of Commons at a third reading by 324 votes to 295, despite Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats voting against it.
A fifth of Labour MPs rebelled against party whips to back an SNP and Liberal Democrat amendment on remaining in the single market and customs union.
Among the 48 who backed the amendment were several former frontbenchers, including Chuka Umunna, Margaret Hodge and Ben Bradshaw, as well as one Conservative MP, Ken Clarke. The amendment was defeated by 322 to 99, with the majority of Labour MPs abstaining.
An attempt by Chris Leslie, a former shadow chancellor, to force the government to release publicly a summary of the legal advice they received over the UK’s ability to revoke article 50, was defeated by 322 votes to 298 – a majority of 24.
At an earlier stage of the bill’s progress through parliament, May suffered a defeat at the hands of Conservative rebels who backed an amendment limiting the powers it would grant to ministers.
The rebels decided not to inflict a second defeat on the prime minister by opposing any more aspects of the legislation, but several said they hoped the House of Lords would scrutinise the decision not to adopt the EU charter of fundamental rights into UK law.
The Brexit secretary, David Davis, said: “We are pleased that the bill has successfully completed this stage of its passage through parliament. This is a critical piece of legislation that aims to maximise certainty for individuals and businesses after our exit.”
The bill will move to the House of Lords at the end of January.