Lord Kerr draws map to second vote

One of the authors of the legal process being used by the UK to leave the EU has set out a constitutional “road map” towards a new referendum that could overturn Brexit.

The report put together by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, the former secretary general of the European Convention that wrote Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, has identified at least six routes for parliament to call a referendum on the terms of the UK’S Brexit deal.

The group of constitutional and legal experts led by Lord Kerr argue that there would be “no difficulty obtaining an extension of the Article 50 timetable” that will see the UK leave the EU on March 29, 2019 in order to arrange a so-called People’s Vote.

Lord Kerr’s report says the referendum should be based on a binary choice, with the ballot paper asking voters to decide between a no deal Brexit and staying in the EU, or the deal achieved by Theresa May and staying in the bloc. Prominent campaigners for a People’s Vote including Gina Miller, who forced Theresa May to pass legislation before invoking Article 50 by taking the government to the Supreme Court, have called for a three-option referendum.

Lord Kerr said: “More than two years since the 2016 referendum, a political, economic and possibly constitutional crisis is gathering across the United Kingdom.

“The die is not irrevocably cast, there is still time and, until the UK has left the EU, the Article 50 letter can be withdrawn.

“If there is a majority in Parliament for a People’s Vote, there are multiple routes to securing one and, as the process unfolds, more opportunities for the House of Commons to assert its will may emerge. Should the UK need more time for a People’s Vote, there is little doubt that the other 27 Member States would agree the necessary extension of the Article 50 timetable.”