By the end of today we will know exactly how high the House of Lords has set the bar for the House of Commons in terms of sensible amendments to the Brexit Bill and explicitly embedding Parliamentary Sovereignty in the process.

This is not about blocking Brexit, indeed, contrary to what many would have you believe, the Lords cannot block Brexit, it can only ask the Commons to reconsider the Bill.

What it is about is ensuring that our constitutional law is upheld, that our democratic processes are followed and that Parliament is properly informed on the terms of the exit deal, or the absence of such a deal, when deciding the future direction that the UK is to take.

I have said elsewhere that this is not a time to take momentous decisions without knowing the circumstances under which the UK will be leaving the EU. This is reinforced in the “Three Knights Opinion” (commissioned by The People’s Challenge) which says that Parliament cannot make decisions based on an unknown deal and set of circumstances 18 months or so into the future.

The world is in a state of flux: Europe (including the UK) is not immune to this and has no control over many of the factors causing it.

Furthermore, there are elections due in the next few months in a number of the EU’s major member states, and we still do not know Trump’s attitude towards Europe in general and the EU and NATO in particular.

Not only is it properly respectful of our Parliament’s Sovereignty for its role in the Brexit process to be explicitly defined , it is prudent to do it to ensure that the decision is made in the best interests of the UK when the terms of the deal, if there is one, are known.

We explained in our last update how effective you’ve been in enabling The People’s Challenge to brief members of the Lords and explain, among other things, the impact of the “Three Knights Opinion”.

So it’s “game on” again with the Commons, building on the success of influencing the decisions in the Lords, to which we are proud to have contributed.

We will need to close much of the gap between what we’ve raised so far and our £100,000 stretch target to have a real impact in the Commons when the Bill returns there. Our success so far in making a difference gives us hope of making an ever-greater difference.

That’s why we’re extending our CrowdJustice campaign to cover this crucial next phase, to help us do the very best we can to support Parliamentary Democracy and good sense.

Please carry on helping us to make sure your voices are heard – making a small further donation now to the campaign could help make a big difference to what the Bill allows and how much say Parliament will have about the rights that your family and you will enjoy two years from now.

“We must not lose our faculty to dare, particularly in dark days”.

Grahame.

Please back the The Second People’s Challenge: helping Parliament take control and help our parliamentarians ensure that Parliament has meaningful control over the Brexit process.