House of Lords chides UK govt, backs EU citizens' rights
Britain's unelected House of Lords on Wednesday handed the government a stinging — though likely temporary — defeat on its plans to leave the European Union, resolving that EU citizens should be promised the right to stay in the UK after it quits the bloc.
By a vote of 358 to 256, Parliament's upper chamber inserted a clause protecting EU nationals' status into a bill authorizing the government to begin EU exit talks.
Pro-EU politicians hailed the vote as a symbol of commitment to Europeans living in Britain. But it is unlikely to turn out to be binding on the government. The change must go to a vote in the elected House of Commons, where there is a strong chance it will be rejected, since Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party has a majority in the lower chamber.
The government said it was "disappointed" by the Lords' vote, and is expected to try to overturn the amendment in the Commons later this month.
