The British parliament — an embodiment of the people's will, as all legislatures are in theory — has taken a bow in the direction of the people. The Prime Minister has won a critical moral victory before the scheduled formal negotiations on Brexit start next month.

Having won the approval of the House of Commons (494 members in favour and 122 against), Theresa May is now on course to trigger Article 50 by her target of early March.

After the occasionally unnerving uncertainty since last June, the Brexit bill was cleared by the Commons on Thursday… markedly with no changes. Crucially, the Commons has rejected no fewer than nine attempted amendments, including one to guarantee the future rights of EU nationals.

This would imply that what they call a ‘clean’ Bill will now be advanced to the House of Lords, an unelected entity, which boasts a strong “Remain” majority. Further amendments are, however, unlikely as the Bill has passed the muster of the elected House of Commons. Not wholly unfounded is the risk that the Lords will face an overwhelming public call to be abolished if the upper chamber now tries to frustrate the Bill.

“They must get on and deliver the will of the British people” was the general popular sentiment in the UK in the immediate aftermath of the Commons vote. The marginal victory of the Leave camp in the referendum has now been ratified in the legislature, a fact that must rank as a striking feature of British constitutional history.

The country showcases a remarkable amalgam of the organs of democracy — the judiciary which had sought the concurrence of the legislature, Parliament per se, and the executive. In the net, the voice of the people has been upheld.

The Bill is now expected to be given royal assent on 7 March; the approval of Buckingham Palace will formally enable the Prime Minister to notify the European Union that she will invoke Article 50 at a EU summit. Profound has been the impact on parties and politics.

Not wholly unrelated is the widening rift within the Labour party on a day when Britain was inching closer towards Brexit. It isn’t merely that Labour and Conservatives are divided on the issue; Labour is split no less acutely on whether Britain should leave the European Union… which is not to be confused with Europe, a geographical expression.