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Article 50 decision imminent! Parliament could vote.

Here it comes... 9.30am - then we know if Parliament must approve the invocation of Article 50, committing the UK to withdrawal from the EU.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/24/supreme-court-article-50-judgment-lord-neuberger-eu-treaty

It will be a relief if Lord Neuberger, head of the Supreme Court, confirms that it must - it seems deeply undemocratic for the Prime Minister alone to be able to invoke such a profound national decision, referendum or no referendum.

The whole background to the referendum was against our national traditions - Britain is a parliamentary country, not a populist dictatorship - and was a cave-in to the hard right, to foreign oligarchs who control our media and to extremely dodgy politicians like Farage.

EDIT: It's done - 8-3 in favour of it going back to Parliament.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-38723261
(edited 7 years ago)

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Can we just trigger it and get it over with. I'm bored of all this fannying about.
Original post by Fullofsurprises

It will be a relief if Lord Neuberger, head of the Supreme Court, confirms that it must - it seems deeply undemocratic for the Prime Minister alone to be able to invoke such a profound national decision, referendum or no referendum.

The whole background to the referendum was against our national traditions - Britain is a parliamentary country, not a populist dictatorship - and was a cave-in to the hard right, to foreign oligarchs who control our media and to extremely dodgy politicians like Farage.


Would this not be an argument for the blocking/ignoring of any future Scottish independence vote?
Original post by Trinculo
Would this not be an argument for the blocking/ignoring of any future Scottish independence vote?


The referendum that gave Scotland its parliament was not treated as something the Prime Minister could then rubber stamp with no recourse to the Westminster parliament - it required an act debated and approved by national MPs.

What May is trying to do strongly resembles the dictatorship powers of Henry VIII and she's even seeking to use one of his legal mechanisms to do it!

This with a tiny majority in the House. You couldn't make it up.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
The referendum that gave Scotland its parliament was not treated as something the Prime Minister could then rubber stamp with no recourse to the Westminster parliament - it required an act debated and approved by national MPs.

What May is trying to do strongly resembles the dictatorship powers of Henry VIII and she's even seeking to use one of his legal mechanisms to do it!

This with a tiny majority in the House. You couldn't make it up.


The recent Scottish referendum was still not legally binding.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
The referendum that gave Scotland its parliament was not treated as something the Prime Minister could then rubber stamp with no recourse to the Westminster parliament - it required an act debated and approved by national MPs.

What May is trying to do strongly resembles the dictatorship powers of Henry VIII and she's even seeking to use one of his legal mechanisms to do it!

This with a tiny majority in the House. You couldn't make it up.


And there was me thinking that the people had already said what they wanted.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
The referendum that gave Scotland its parliament was not treated as something the Prime Minister could then rubber stamp with no recourse to the Westminster parliament - it required an act debated and approved by national MPs.

What May is trying to do strongly resembles the dictatorship powers of Henry VIII and she's even seeking to use one of his legal mechanisms to do it!

This with a tiny majority in the House. You couldn't make it up.


I'm sort of referring more to the argument that Britain is a parliamentary country with national traditions and isn't a populist dictatorship. If that's the case, there will never be Scottish independence.
Original post by Willy Pete
And there was me thinking that the people had already said what they wanted.


They said what they wanted - in a parliamentary democracy.

If that isn't the case, why have MPs at all?
Original post by Fullofsurprises
They said what they wanted - in a parliamentary democracy.

If that isn't the case, why have MPs at all?


They do all the other things that aren't worth everyone else voting on. If they don't act on the will of the people is it really a democracy?
Parliament must trigger article 50 - Supreme Court
Great... cue more squabbling over Brexit.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
The referendum that gave Scotland its parliament was not treated as something the Prime Minister could then rubber stamp with no recourse to the Westminster parliament - it required an act debated and approved by national MPs.

What May is trying to do strongly resembles the dictatorship powers of Henry VIII and she's even seeking to use one of his legal mechanisms to do it!

This with a tiny majority in the House. You couldn't make it up.


While your free to argue the merits of parliament being sovereign over the executive the idea that May is some tyrant trying to oppose her will is lunacy. Weakening of the royal perogative is a relatively modern thing and not entirely good in my opinion.

At any rate, it's pointless. The Comrade has already confirmed the majority of his MP's will vote to exit.
UPDATE: The Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger has said "Today by a majority of eight to three the Supreme Court rules that government cannot trigger Article 50 without an Act of Parliament to do so."

Parliament must vote before the UK government begins the Article 50 process of leaving the EU. Therefore, Theresa May can't begin EU talks until MPs give their backing.

Taken from BBC news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-38723261
I have no idea why OP is being triumphant over the outcome of this. This makes Brexit more likely for two reasons, Parliament will vote to leave which in turn will strengthen the mandate to leave and crucially there was a unanimous decision that the decision to leave does not have to pass through the devolved parliaments. :smile:
8-3, a lot of people thought it would be unanimous.
It's done! :clap2:

Now we can return to British parliamentary processes, which is where this should have been in the first place.
Original post by l'etranger
I have no idea why OP is being triumphant over the outcome of this. This makes Brexit more likely for two reasons, Parliament will vote to leave which in turn will strengthen the mandate to leave and crucially there was a unanimous decision that the decision to leave does not have to pass through the devolved parliaments. :smile:


I hated the referendum to start with (I don't believe such crucial things should be voted on in a country where the mass media tell oceans of lies and are manipulated from abroad by special interests) and I believe it should be with parliament.

I think there will be more trouble in Parliament than people think over this and MPs will come under strong pressure to add stipulations that we must stay in the Single Market, etc.
It's fairly irrelevant. It will get through the Commons easily enough.

If the Lords try to block or delay it then I'm sure May will swiftly revive the proposed Lords reforms. It's not in their interests to risk their cushy jobs for life.

Also the judges ruled that devolved administrations don't have to be given any say in it so that's a blow for the likes of Sturgeon and whoever that Welsh guy in the papers yesterday.
Yay, brexiteers got exactly what they wanted!
This is decisions being made in Britain, more power to the Supreme Court. :biggrin:
Brexit cannot be blocked but at least the government cannot be unruly and unaccountable for brexit.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
I hated the referendum to start with (I don't believe such crucial things should be voted on in a country where the mass media tell oceans of lies and are manipulated from abroad by special interests) and I believe it should be with parliament.

I think there will be more trouble in Parliament than people think over this and MPs will come under strong pressure to add stipulations that we must stay in the Single Market, etc.


People are not clever enough to make these decisions - this is why we pay people we elect to make them for us. Referendums are a terrible terrible idea imo

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