Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Tory Government Caves on Publishing Brexit Plan

Just moments before a parliamentary deadline, the Her Majesty's Government accepted a Labour motion calling on HMG to publish its plans on the British departure from the European Union. However, the Tories claim to have turned the tables by adding an amendment to the motion setting a deadline for invoking Article 50 of the Brussels Treaty that will begin the departure countdown. The march of folly continues.

Rarely do governments opt to treat opposition motions with such friendliness. However, those who count votes in the Tory offices figured as many as 40 Conservative MPs would vote for the Labour motion. Rather than divide the House and show how divided their party was, the Conservative leadership have decided to let the motion go through on the nod later today.

Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, said, "We have had unnecessary uncertainty, speculation and a running commentary on the Government's likely approach. The Government have now agreed to publish that plan and to do so before Article 50 is invoked. Labour will hold the Government to account on this." The motion calls for a publication date "no later than January."

The government believes it has boxed clever by adding an amendment that says, "That this House should respect the wishes of the United Kingdom as expressed in the referendum on 23 June; and further calls on the Government to invoke Article 50 by 31 March 2017." In other words, Labour will have to vote in favor of the government's plan to trigger Article 50 before April or abandon its own motion. Labour want to see the plan badly enough to let the trigger part pass as well.

Where the Tories are getting off the hook is in the vagueness of the language regarding the plan itself. Nothing states how detailed it has to be, let alone whether there ought to be a green paper or a white paper. In truth, this journal takes the view that a white paper is the least the government owes the nation. It needn't detail the exact outcomes desired, but it should lay out a vision of the future relationship of the UK and the EU. Moreover, it should provide costs and economic forecasts based on varying degrees of success in getting what it wants from Europe.

The Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party will vote against the whole Brexit folly at every turn. The LibDems have already stated that Prime Minister May must clear up "the big questions facing the country, including membership of the single market." Tom Brake, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said, "Finally this Conservative Brexit government is admitting that triggering Article 50 without a plan would be like jumping out of a plane without a parachute." The LibDems want another referendum to ratify whatever deal is negotiated.

As for the SNP, the third largest party in Westminster, they represent a distinct nation within the UK, one that voted to stay in Europe. Therefore, as The Week stated it, "First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly said she has a mandate to oppose Brexit because the referendum result north of the border was firmly in favour of remaining in the EU. Sturgeon says the consent of the Scottish parliament and other devolved assemblies should also be sought before Article 50 is triggered. Her fellows in London will act accordingly."

When this motion passes with the Tory amendment, the fuse will have been lit. Britain, barring an outbreak of sanity as well as a proper Supreme Court ruling in the matter, will have a deal negotiated on leaving the EU before April 1, 2019. Hard Brexit, or soft, or in between, it will happen in this parliament. Thanks to the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011, the next general election won't be until Spring 2020. The people have spoken, and their folly can't be undone.

© Copyright 2016 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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