Exeter Senior Politics Lecturer: The High Court ruling ‘will neither prevent nor stall Brexit’

Recently the High Court ruled that Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the European Union (EU). Effectively this means that the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – beginning formal exit negotiations with the EU – without Parliament.

This is of course despite the fact that on June 23 – the In/Out Referendum – seventeen million people – 52% of the British population – voted to leave the EU; the largest democratic mandate in British political history.

The government have expressed their intention to appeal the High Court’s ruling, with a Supreme Court ruling scheduled for early December. Ironically, the ruling of the High Court arguably undermines the constitutional convention that matters of foreign policy be left not to Parliament but to the executive via the exercise of the royal prerogative. Having an uncodified constitution, convention plays a key role in the British constitution.

All the while the UK is plunged into an unnecessary constitutional crisis and the British people are left all the more confused for it.

“If parliament does get a vote on Article 50”, writes James Forsyth for The Spectator, “I doubt that it would vote it down: the public voted for Brexit in a referendum, after all”.

Either way, MPs – the majority of whom backed Remain – have to tread carefully. If they do deliberately stall Brexit negotiations and vote to remain in the EU then they will effectively disenfranchise 52% – a majority – of the British people.

Here on campus the reaction of students to the High Court’s ruling has been mixed. Some – particularly the Leavers – have expressed disillusionment and even downright indignation. Others – parliamentary the Remainers – have welcomed the decision.

Dr Robin Durie, senior Politics lecturer here at Exeter, describes the ruling of the High Court as “very important”. He told The Tab: “The decision upholds the spirit of the referendum and our unwritten constitution”. In Dr Durie’s opinion, the decision “neither prevents nor stalls Brexit”.

Dr Durie, Senior Politics Lecturer at Exeter

The Liberal Democrats, led by Tim Farron, have explicitly stated that they will campaign to keep Britain within the EU, despite the result of the referendum. Perhaps they should change their name to the Illiberal Diktats? Clearly there are those in Parliament – our elected representatives – who have every intention to ignore the referendum result.

Democracy of course would be the first casualty, their re-election prospects would be the second.

Indeed, we have this rather surreal situation in Britain where a majority of Britons and a majority of constituencies backed Leave yet a majority of our elected representatives backed Remain.

This might compel the Prime Minister, Theresa May, to call a snap general election and thus alter the composition of Parliament. With the Tories currently polling between nine and 17 points ahead of Labour, she would at the same time comfortably increase her parliamentary majority [UK Polling Report].

Does the ruling of the High Court mean that Brexit won’t happen? Unlikely. Does the ruling mean that the Brexit process is going to be more complicated? Possibly.

Theresa May has expressed her intention to trigger Article 50 by the end of March next year but the ruling of the High Court – if it is not overturned in the Supreme Court – will likely result in prolonged Parliamentary wrangling and thus Article 50 may have to be delayed and, as EU heavyweights have made clear, Brexit negotiations cannot commence until Article 50 is formally triggered.

‘It was a mistake,’ writes Philip Johnston for The Telegraph, ‘for the courts to intervene on such a huge political issue, since it will inevitably ignite a ferocious controversy.’

The Head of the Law School at Exeter, Dr Richard Edwards, concurs: “[The ruling] will not stop Brexit… The executive cannot trigger the Article 50 on its own. Parliament needs to be involved.”

One thing is for certain, if Parliament block the exit of the EU then democracy and the British people will be the ones to lose out.