The House of Lords voted 358 to 256 against the EU (Notification Of Withdrawal) Bill that is required for Theresa May to trigger Article 50 and begin the exit process.
A majority of 102 members backed a Labour amendment to guarantee the rights of EU nationals who currently reside in the UK to remain after Brexit.
They successfully argued EU residents should be given protection ahead of the negotiations.
The bill was passed to the House of Lords last month, without amendments, after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ordered his party to back the Government.
The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged up to 52.5 from 52.2 in January, above forecasts in a Reuters poll that had pointed to an unchanged reading.
Construction accounts for around 6 percent of British economic output, a fraction of the size of the dominant services industry. Markit is due to publish its PMI for services on Friday.
The Bank of England is watching closely for signs of a slowdown in Britain’s economy this year, caused by rising inflation and weaker spending power among consumers. However, it has forecast growth of 2.0 percent, stronger than expected by a recent poll.