Jacob Rees-Mogg slates Remainer Chuka Umunna for opposing Brexit bill 'for his own sake'

The Tory Brexiteer said Remainers were making a point to “jump up and down” at every step the Government takes to proceed with Brexit.

Ministers have won two votes on Brexit legislation as they attempt to push the EU (Withdrawal) Bill through Parliament.

Appearing on Sky News alongside the Labour MP, Mr Rees-Mogg added British voters expected the Brexit process to last two years and not for it to be an “indefinite process”.

He said: “The people who are opposing what the Government’s doing are, quite reasonably, opposing for its own sake.

“The job of the opposition is to oppose, it’s what they’ve always done and therefore whatever the Government comes forward with, there’ll be people jumping up and down saying this is wrong.

“But the reason for a clear date is that it fits in with the Article 50 notification and also I think with the reasonable expectation of voters that a two year process was set out, a two year process was discussed at the General Election.

“Suddenly to make it an indefinite process would, I think, raise considerable concerns up and down the country.”

Both Labour members and rebel Tories are gearing up to inflict a number of defeats on Mrs May as they go over the fine print of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.

But the Government defeated the first opposition amendment to their Brexit legislation, which would have forced Theresa May to win the consent of the UK’s devolved administrations before repealing European Union legislation.

The amendment was defeated 318-52 as MPs continue their line-by-line scrutiny of the bill.

The Government also significantly won a vote (318-68) on the bill’s provision for the 1972 European Communities Act to be repealed on the day of exit.

The Act currently gives EU law supremacy over UK national law.