Brexit
could be halted after Government admits MPs likely to have final say
Parliamentary
vote on final Brexit agreement hailed as 'victory' by pro-EU MPs
Rob Merrick
Parliament has the
right to reject the final Brexit deal, No.10 has indicated for the
first time – raising the possibility that Britain’s EU exit could
yet be halted.
Downing Street
agreed it is “very likely” that MPs and peers will be given a
vote once the withdrawal negotiations are finished, after the issue
arose in the High Court.
The statement –
after the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to give ground on demands
for Parliament to have a say on Brexit – immediately triggered
furious debate about the possible consequences.
Brexit included in
Football Manager, making people deal with fallout
One senior pro-EU
Conservative MP called it a “victory for all those who believe in
the right of Parliament to represents the interests of our
constituents”.
And the prospect of
Parliament exerting some control over the final settlement caused the
pound to surge immediately against the dollar in exchange markets.
The development came
on the third day of the legal challenge against the Government’s
separate refusal to give Parliament a vote before Article 50 is
invoked.
James Eadie QC told
the High Court that Parliament would have to ratify any package
hammered out with Brussels – prompting Theresa May’s spokeswoman
to say it was an “accurate reflection” of the Government’s
interpretation of the law.
It raised the
prospect, at the very least, that MPs and peers could amend the
Brexit deal if they opposed key elements of the impact on trade,
immigration or other areas.
However, it could
also mean Britain tumbling out of the EU – probably in early 2019 –
with no deal whatsoever.
Mr Carmichael, a
supporter of the Open Britain campaign, which wants close economic
ties with Europe, said a vote in two years’ time was no substitute
for a say on the terms for starting the exit.
He said: “It’s
an encouraging sign that the Government has agreed to give Parliament
a say on the final terms of Brexit. But there must be a role of
Parliament before the end of the negotiations.
“The best place to
start would be for the Government to commit to a debate and a vote in
the House of Commons on the Government’s principles for the
upcoming negotiations before they trigger Article 50.”
For the Liberal
Democrats, Foreign Affairs Spokesman Tom Brake said the final
decision whether to approve a Brexit deal should be made by the
public – in a second referendum.
He said: “It’s
telling that it’s taken a court case to get the Government to
finally admit it will give Parliament say on the Brexit deal.
“The Liberal
Democrats will fight to ensure the British people are also given a
say over the final deal to ensure it is right for them.”
The Government has
insisted it would not be possible to slam the brakes on EU withdrawal
after the two-year Article 50 notice is triggered, early next year.
But some leading
lawyers have argued there is nothing in Article 50 to prevent the UK
withdrawing its declaration that it intends to leave the EU, if it
chose to do so.
And that possibility
was raised recently that Donald Tusk, the President of the European
Council, who suggested the UK could later “determine if Brexit is
really in their interest”.
Gina Miller, a
London businesswoman, is leading the High Court challenge, demanding
that MPs be given a vote on the timing of the invoking of Article 50.
Government lawyers
oppose the case, stressing that the Prime Minister is legally within
her rights to go ahead with the formal process next March, using
Royal Prerogative powers.
The Attorney General
Jeremy Wright argued in court that the court challenge is an attempt
to “invalidate” the public’s decision to quit the EU.
Three senior judges
– the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the master of
the rolls, Sir Terence Etherton, and Lord Justice Sales – are
hearing the case, which is certain to end up in the Supreme Court.
In the hearing, Mr
Eadie said it was likely that Parliamentary scrutiny would include
ratifying any new treaty reached with the EU during the Article 50
process.
He told the High
Court: “The Government view, at the moment, is that it is very
likely that any such agreement would be subject to ratification.”
David Davis, the
Brexit Secretary, had previously acknowledged that Parliamentary
approval was likely to be needed – when warning the House of Lords
not to try to scupper Brexit – but Ms May had been silent.
Keir Starmer QC MP,
Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, said: “The House of
Commons needs to be involved in this process from start to finish.
The issues involved are simply too important for the House of Commons
to be side-lined until the end.
“A vote so late in
the day would put MPs between a rock and a hard place. It would ask
us to choose between a deal on the government's terms or leaving the
European Union with no deal at all.
“That is an
unacceptable position for us to be in.”
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