Regular Lib Dem Voice contributor and Lib Dem peer William Wallace has won a major concession from the Government as the EU Withdrawal Bill makes its way through the House of Lords.

Don’t get me wrong, the words EU Withdrawal Bill send a cold shiver through my heart, but anything we can do to make the legislation less awful has to be welcomed.

Under pressure from peers the government stated that they will commit to upholding the rights won from our membership of the EU. This includes upholding key parts of existing rights such as the EU Working Time Directive.

Speaking last night in the Lords on behalf of the government, Lord Duncan of Springbank,

It is important that we recognise that the rights we have cannot be undone.

Following pressure from Lib Dem peer William Wallace, he confirmed: “The day after Brexit, our rulebook will be safe. The rights which we have will be incorporated and we will build on them as a foundation.

William Wallace said:

This is a major concession by the government that is vital to maintaining the hard won rights of British citizens.

I hope that the wider Tory party now row in behind their government ministers to ensure the no rights are lost in the face of Brexit.

People must not have to worry about losing their basic rights, but under this government it has been far from clear that British people’s future is safe and secure.

It is great to see that our Lib Dem Lords are doing their bit to stick up for our rights but I still don’t trust the Tories with any of them. At least while we were in the EU, there was a threshold they couldn’t go below.

I am still heartbroken that my most treasured right, my EU citizenship, is going to disappear unless we can find a way to stop this nonsense.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social