Why the people must now take back control of Brexit
The Article 50 letter notified the EU of our intention to leave, but intentions can change STEPHEN DOUGHTY
Campaigners for a second EU referendum have set out a roadmap to obtain a ‘People’s Vote’ giving the public the final say on the outcome of Brexit negotiations. Here, Stephen Doughty, MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, explains why he’s a leading supporter...
THE closer we get to Brexit, the clearer the consequences become. And the more the evidence piles up, the stronger is the case for a people’s vote on the most momentous national decision in most of our lifetimes.
Car workers who now find their jobs at risk need the chance to weigh the facts against the political rhetoric and make their own choice.
Some politicians argue that the warnings of what lies ahead are all project fear, as if the boss of Jaguar Land Rover doesn’t know his own business.
People surely didn’t vote Leave to see tens of thousands of jobs being lost in one of our world-leading industries.
There has to be a chance to pause and reflect on what will happen if the UK crashes out of the European Union without any agreements to maintain the flow of car parts in and out of British factories.
Road hauliers who see their businesses facing bankruptcy as their lorries queue up at customs must have a voice. It is not project fear, it is reality when the Road Haulage Association says that new customs controls resulting from Brexit would mean a 45-minute delay for every one of the 10,000 lorries passing through Dover every day.
Imagine how long the queues would be – like having a major accident every day on the roads that are a lifeline of Britain’s prosperity.
Almost every aspect of our daily lives would be affected by Brexit in ways that were never debated in 2016.
A landmark report, The Roadmap to a People’s Vote – out yesterday – sets out a clear route towards securing the people of the United Kingdom their democratic right to have their voice heard on the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.
The document is authored by Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, who is the former Secretary General of the European Convention which wrote Article 50.
The Article 50 letter originally notified the EU of our intention to leave, but intentions can change.
Withdrawing the Article 50 letter would be cost free, since the terms of our EU membership cannot be changed without our agreement as a member state.
MPs will have a series of opportunities to either encourage or force the government to legislate for a People’s Vote. In passing the necessary legislation, nothing should be rushed, but the urgency of the situation would create a big incentive for MPs and the government to proceed swiftly. The principles of clarity, speed and simplicity should be applied at every stage.
There would be no difficulty obtaining an extension of the Article 50 timetable to allow a People’s Vote to take place. If Parliament judged that it was necessary to delay the March 29, 2019, deadline so that it could consult the people in a democratic vote, the government would not face any political or procedural obstacle to this.
A People’s Vote would not be a rerun. It would be an informed choice on the outcome of the negotiations, whether that is an agreed deal or no deal.
Neither of those options was on the ballot paper last time. Leavers should have the chance to say whether they want to go ahead in circumstances worse than promised.
Those who voted to stay in the EU, and young people who have come on to the register in the last two years, should be given a voice too, in a choice that affects all our lives whatever our viewpoint.
It would not be democratic for the government to force a deal that nobody likes through Parliament. Nor would it be democratic to deceive the people with a blindfold Brexit where key decisions on the big issues are delayed until after we’ve left.
And if there is deadlock in the House of Commons, the most democratic way through a constitutional crisis would be to consult the voters.
It would make no sense to give people the vote on the principle of leaving, but not on the terms, now that the price is becoming clear.
It would be like deciding to buy a car, and not pausing when you find you don’t like the price, and the car on offer isn’t roadworthy.
Or it would be like deciding to sell your house and going ahead even though the homes on offer are in the wrong location and have bad surveyor’s reports.
People must be able to decide for themselves whether Brexit does what it said on the tin, or not.
The winning slogan in 2016 was take back control. The people must now take back control of the outcome.