Pro-EU campaigners map out 2nd referendum path
PRO-EU campaigners have set out how parliament could force the British government to call a fresh vote on Brexit, arguing that there is still time for another referendum.
Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected the idea of a second referendum on leaving the EU but the campaign for a so-called “People’s Vote” on whether to accept any Brexit deal has won support from some in parliament.
In a report co-authored by the man who drafted the EU treaty clause Britain is using to exit the bloc, the “People’s Vote” campaign said parliament would have a series of opportunities to encourage or force the government to hold a referendum.
“The die is not irrevocably cast, there is still time,” said John Kerr, who wrote the Article 50 exit clause of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty that Mrs May used in March 2017 to set a two-year countdown running on Britain’s departure.
The campaign cited polling data from YouGov showing more people would back a second vote than oppose one. Most opinion polls show a slight shift away from voting for Brexit but overall opinion remains basically split down the middle.
The report set out six scenarios under which parliament could fight the government, ranging from technical procedures that would turn a planned vote in parliament on approving her deal into a one calling for a public vote, to the collapse of her government and a new election.
All rely to some extent on Mrs May, who does not have an outright majority in parliament, failing to win over sceptical lawmakers within her own party.
“The combination of parliament having meaningful votes, together with the government’s lack of a reliable majority, means that MPs will play a central role in scrutinising any deal and could yet reject it,” the report said.
The government has agreed to let lawmakers vote on whether to accept any deal Mrs May is able to negotiate with Brussels. But her negotiating plan is unpopular within her divided party, and it is not clear that she will be able to win a vote on it.
Nevertheless, Mrs May said that if her deal is rejected by parliament, Britain will leave the bloc without any deal, an outcome that many economists, including the International Monetary Fund, say would damage the economy.