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Scottish parliament votes against U.K.’s Brexit legislation, complicating London’s plan to leave EU

An anti-Brexit protester waves EU and Union flags and holds up a placard opposite the Houses of Parliament, on a sunny day in London, May 8, 2018. Reuters/Hannah McKay

LONDON – Scotland’s parliament has rejected the British government’s key Brexit bill, creating another headache for Prime Minister Theresa May‘s plans for leaving the European Union.

Lawmakers in the Edinburgh legislature passed a motion Tuesday refusing to consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill.

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The bill is designed to implement Brexit by translating all EU law into British statute when the U.K. leaves the bloc.

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Scotland’s governing Scottish National Party thinks the bill could undermine the Edinburgh government by letting London seize too many powers being returned from Brussels.

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Scotland’s parliament doesn’t have the authority to block the legislation, but an attempt to push it through without Scottish consent could prompt a constitutional crisis.

Britain as a whole voted in June 2016 to leave the EU, but Scotland voted to remain.

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