We live in the best country in the world. A free country with an independent judiciary.
The challenge to triggering of Article 50 is not the first time Government policy has been challenged in The High Court. Frequently the Government is sent back to make changes, accept the ruling or challenge it in the Supreme Court.
There is nothing new here, but I understand the frustrations of many people who voted for Brexit who now feel their wishes are being thwarted. Interestingly, there are almost as many people contacting me to complain about the Government’s appeal as those expressing everything from disappointment to outrage at the initial High Court challenge.
Many Brexiteers claimed they wanted our Parliament to be sovereign. Ironically, that is what the High Court ruling says. Of course this is a delaying tactic and obviously brought about by a disappointed remain supporter, but wouldn’t we want to appeal to our independent judiciary if the need arose?
Those far more qualified than me to comment suggest the Government’s appeal to the Supreme Court is unlikely to be successful. So that means we will have to have a vote in Parliament before we invoke Article 50.
I campaigned and voted to leave the European Union and that is what we are going to do. The British people voted by a simple majority to exit the EU and it is the duty of MP’s to carry out their wishes.
An MP who refuses to carry out the will of the people has no right to call themselves a democrat. Further, in my opinion they ought to be ruled out of the democratic process altogether. This isn’t compromise brought about by circumstances beyond a government’s control, this was a simple yes or no and every last MP has a duty to implement the result.
The Government should bring forward a simple piece of legislation saying, ‘Trigger Article 50’, Parliament should vote for it and then we can get on with the complicated business of getting the best deal possible for the United Kingdom.
I am driven to comment on your contention – expressed on more than one occasion – in relation to the invoking of article 50, that “An MP who refuses to carry out the will of the people has no right to call themselves a democrat.”
You will be familiar with Edmund Burke’s viewn of the MP’s responsibility in relation to his constituents and I hope that all MPs agree that the only tenable view is that they are representatives, not delegates, of the people who elected them and they will try to exercise judgment on behalf of those they represent rather than subordinating their views to them.