The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Public figures sign letter calling for halt to Brexit
Dundee academic believes overturning Brexit is unlikely
The chances of Brexit being called off are “slim in the extreme”, says a pro-EU professor in Dundee.
Dozens of high-profile figures in Scotland – including the author of Article 50 – have demanded the decision to leave the EU be reversed as the “disastrous consequences” of leaving the EU become “ever clearer”.
Public law professor Alan Page, who is hesitant to back that call despite thinking Brexit is “insane”, said there will have to be a “genuine shift in public mood” against leaving for it to be stopped – but he accepted Brexit could be abandoned.
“I think the likelihood at the moment is slim in the extreme,” he told The Courier.
“It’s not going to happen at the moment.
“That’s not to say it won’t happen, but for it to happen there has to be a genuine shift in public mood. And it cannot be confined to the political and intellectual elite, but must be reflected in the mood of those who voted for leaving.”
Professor Page, one of the country’s leading experts on the constitution, said Brexit could be dropped by the UK Parliament without recourse to another referendum, which he said people are “completely fed up with”.
He also said it is “politically possible” that Article 50 could be reversed.
But he warned: “If that were to happen now then you would expect there to be a significant backlash, which is why public opinion has to shift.
“Farage would be immediately on his soapbox, threatening this, that and the other.”
Politics professor Michael Keating, from Aberdeen University, said the UK Parliament is sovereign so could pull back from Brexit.
“Politically that would be very difficult to explain, so would probably require another referendum or at least a general election fought on that issue,” he said.
A letter to The Herald signed by 60 politicians, academics and other prominent members of public life said it is always possible in a democracy “think again”, adding. “It is time to call a halt to Brexit.”
Ex-Fife MPs – the former First Minister Henry McLeish and Lib Dem leader Lord Campbell – are among those to sign the letter.
Lord Kerr, the author of Article 50, professors David Bell and Christina Boswell and MEPs Alyn Smith and David Martin have also signed up.