NOTHING WILL STOP EU EXIT

May insists MPs can’t overturn referendum vote

THERESA May yesterday signalled her determination not to let Remain campaigners block Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

The Prime Minister ruled out holding a second referendum on the Brexit deal she strikes with the EU.

She will also not give MPs a vote on when to kick-start the formal exit talks by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

And her team slapped down speculation that she could call an early general election, allowing voters the chance to give their verdict on Britain’s exit deal by 2020.

Downing Street said Parliament would get “a say” in the process. But sources indicated this would only be debates and statements.

MPs will not be given decisive votes on Brexit policies to prevent the Remain camp impeding or scuppering the process.

Mrs May’s hardline stance, which underlines

her promise that “Brexit means Brexit”, was made clear before a meeting today of senior ministers.

Mrs May’s Cabinet will gather for the first time since the summer break at the Prime Minister’s official country residence, Chequers.

Brexit will be high on the agenda for the two-part session.

It will feature a conventional Cabinet meeting to discuss Government business, followed by a “political Cabinet” from which civil servants will be excluded to give ministers free rein to talk tactics.

Former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague urged Mrs May yesterday to rule out the “seductive, thoroughly bad and dangerous idea” of holding another referendum.

But he suggested she might be wise to ask Parliament to approve the invoking of Article 50, even though there was probably no legal need for her to do so.

He said it would forestall “debates and plots” and “flush out” those MPs who wanted to flout the will of the British people as voiced in June’s referendum.

Lord Hague said he voted Remain but now the best course was to leave with “clarity, certainty and purpose”, and without “doubt, lack of confidence and attempts to undermine the decision”.

A legal bid to stop the Government invoking Article 50 without Parliament’s prior authorisation is due to be heard in the High Court in October.

Meanwhile, pro-EU Labour leadA

ership contender Owen Smith is among those calling for a second referendum or general election to give voters a say on the exit terms struck by the Government.

He said he would try to block the deployment of Article 50 unless Mrs May promised voters a chance to give their opinion.

But a Number 10 spokesman stressed that Mr Smith was “not the leader of the Labour Party”.

He added: “The PM has been clear there will be no second referendum. I think the PM has been clear there will be no general election either.”

The spokesman insisted: “The PM has been absolutely clear on this on numerous occasions. Brexit does mean Brexit. The will of the people must be respected and it must be implemented.

“The Prime Minister has also been clear that there must be no attempts for us to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through a back-door mechanism and no second referendum.”

On calls for Parliament to get a vote on Article 50 – which Mrs May has said she will not invoke before the end of the year – the spokesman said there was “no legal obligation” for her to consult MPs before triggering the process.

Irreversible

He added: “Parliament will have a say on Article 50 and the relationship of Britain as it exits the EU or starts the process of exiting.

“When Parliament will have a say is something that will be resolved over the coming months.

“Parliament will be involved, it will have a say, opinions will be aired. But the referendum bill was passed by six to one in the Commons and the PM has been clear, the will of the people who voted to leave the EU must be respected.”

A source later underlined that Mrs May saw no need to have a referendum or general election to approve the Brexit deal.

The source added: “There will be a process for Parliament to make its view known but there will not be a vote to trigger Article 50.

“MPs have had their say. They said we should have a referendum. We put it to the British people. The people made their view known.”

French President Francois Hollande said yesterday talks on Brexit must be concluded by 2019 and the decision to leave was irreversible.

He insisted the UK cannot access the EU free trade bloc unless it accepts core principles, including free movement of people.

Mr Hollande said: “Britain, once it leaves, cannot take part in European decisions. It will not be able to access the single market unless it accepts the freedoms, all its regulation and budgetary solidarity.”

He said Mrs May had tough decisions to take and needed time but could not drag her feet on starting talks. “For France, everything must be concluded by 2019,” he added.

MEMBERS of Parliament will get the chance to air their thoughts on the Brexit process – however Theresa May will not allow Parliament to vote on it. This is yet another astute move by the Prime Minister.

She is right to want the opinions of as broad a range of people as possible. This is a settlement that will affect our whole country and it is only right that MPs, including those who supported Remain, get the chance to have their say on what Britain’s future relationship with the EU should be like.

Yet they cannot be allowed to hold up the process. A majority of MPs backed Remain during the referendum. Many of them – including those whose own constituents overwhelmingly voted to leave – have refused to accept the result.

Some have even declared themselves ready to use parliamentary procedures to force us to stay in the EU against our wishes. This would be a slap in the face for our democracy.

On a practical level the Brexit negotiations will be impossible if Mrs May has to ratify every little detail with MPs. It will be enough of a challenge coming up with a deal acceptable not only to the Brussels bureaucrats but to 27 other member states as well. The Government getting bogged down in a series of parliamentary battles with bitter Remainers is the last thing anybody needs.

On June 23 the British people instructed the Government to take Britain out of the EU. Mrs May does not need permission from MPs before finishing the job.