Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU, the High Court has ruled.
This means the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - beginning formal exit negotiations with the EU - on its own.
Theresa May says the referendum - and existing ministerial powers - mean MPs do not need to vote, but campaigners called this unconstitutional.
The government is appealing, with a further hearing expected next month.
- Rolling reaction to Article 50 court ruling
- Kuenssberg: Will this mean early election?
- The High Court's judgement in full
- Brexit: All you need to know
A statement is to be made to MPs on Monday but the prime minister's official spokesman said the government had "no intention of letting" the judgement "derail Article 50 or the timetable we have set out. We are determined to continue with our plan".
Plebiscites only count when plebes vote the way they're told.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday November 04 2016, @02:37PM
The former PM made a "pledge."
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday November 04 2016, @02:58PM
Was it in writing and notarized? Legally binding?
"How can you tell a politician is lying?" :P
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday November 04 2016, @06:58PM
No, he said it and had it printed on a pamphlet. For it to be legally binding, it would need to have been written into law. The only way that can happen is by Act of Parliament, ie debated by and voted for our elected representatives in the House of Commons, scrutinised by the Peers in the House of Lord's and amended and re-considered if necessary and then given Royal Ascent, ie signed by Her Majesty the Queen. Anything less is just bluster.
The morons are angry because this High Court judgement confirns that, so for Brexit to happen, it has to be by Act of Parliament, otherwise it's null and void. Theresa May, the Prime Minister, riding high on a wave of fascist populism, wanted to short-circuit the constitutional procedure for various nefarious reasons, ostensibly to keep her negotiating hand secret from the rest of the EU.
The morons are now very worried that it won't get through Parliament, and that it's a foreign/elite conspiracy to go against "the will of the people."
All because the Conservative Party was getting split by defections to UKIP in recent years...
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday November 04 2016, @03:00PM
While that is a problem, it's not really the one the GP is talking about (at least, I don't think it is...I'm not entirely sure what his complaint it). If the referendum isn't legally binding, Parliament could just pass a law themselves.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday November 04 2016, @08:22PM
There are four countries in the UK, three of which have devolved governments (regional assemblies) with varying powers. At least two of them voted to Remain. Gibraltar also voted to Remain by 94%. There are about a couple of million of UK citizens living and working in EU countries (Freedom of Movement and all that) who didn't get a vote because they've been out of the country for too long (several years).
The tabloid press (particularly the Daily Mail and Daily Express) have a lot to answer for, whipping up xenophobia amongst their readership, a constant campaign of outright lies regarding the EU, British democracy and sovereignty, "the Liberal Left" etc.
And let's not forget Farage. If I had a bonfire, I'd be burning his effigy upon it tomorrow.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 04 2016, @06:00PM
I may be able to sum this all up with a short anecdote
.
I ran a 8 year experiment back in the 80s when one of the politicians was singing the praises of their Brexit referendums. Tacked a couple to the sunny side of a shed, and staked a couple more on the ground. Ten years later my wife took them down and threw them in the recycle when we moved out of that house.
Statute of limitations on false advertising had already expired.