at this point.
So, with this knowledge which way do the ERG vote next week?
at this point.
So, with this knowledge which way do the ERG vote next week?
Robert Peston's thread on twitter 'explaining' the current situation is as confusing as all fúckery. His reading is that parliament now has the power to vote against a hard Brexit and that ERG's only remaining option is to support May's deal. It is, in effect, semi-Brexit or no Brexit at all.
That all sounds superficially convincing but entirely ignores the question of how exactly Parliament can go about voting against Hard Brexit. Bear in mind that Parliament passed an Act which sets out our leaving the EU on 29/03/19. Unless that Act is repealed by another Act it is good law. Yesterday’s events do not provide a mechanism for repeal.
Couple of issues there:
a/ There is no public appetite for a second referendum - and absolutely none among Tory voters.
b/ A tory leadership that extends Article 50 and brings in a second referendum will effectively be committing political suicide at the next election - if (and this is not as easy as it sounds) it can actually command a majority for doing so.
I suspect that there will be a referendum between May's Brexit or no Brexit at all. Brexit will have to be pushed back to allow this.
There is absolutely no way that the Parliamentary Commission is going to give Joe Public the option of voting for hard Brexit since no party wants that.
I think suspect we might remain in after all, especially if they allow 16 and 17 year-olds to vote (as they well should, considering it impacts their future prosperity more than others). Also, we now know the best deal the EU will give us. A trade deal with Trump looks unfavourable. Many of the old people that voted leave 2 years ago are now dead. And many youngsters that were too young to vote (and highly likely to vote Remain) are now old enough to take part.
I know, but ultimately I think Tory MPs outside the ERG would sooner get behind a second ref than a No Deal Brexit.
It's possible that a No Deal Brexit could wipe out the Tories at the next GE, too. Even if an orderly No Deal departure was at a certain point possible, it does seem likely that it hasn't been adequately prepared for, and the economic impact would be substantial.
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No Deal might damage them in the short term (but, btw, the UK electorate doesn't vote Labour when the economy's in serious trouble - Labour govts are an indulgence set aside for good economic - or at least optimistic - times. Voting Labour during an economic storm would be like a shipwrecked sailor choosing to cling to the anchor rather than the wreckage).
By contrast, extending Article 50 and a second vote would betray their base destroy them forever. Which would you choose?
It's time for Batten to deploy Tommy and the Boys to the Beer Hall.
Currently, polling is at 50:40 against with 10% don't knows. That simply isn't enough to justify a second referendum.
Also, among Tory voters, those numbers stand at 74-18 against. So, the question is: what Tory government in its right mind would choose to pursue a course of action so profoundly contrary to its voters' wishes?
Anything other than a Yes/No vote would mean essentially gerrymandering the vote to ensure there is no outcome other than one Remainers like, so I'm not sure that'll fly. As Rees-Mogg put it to Caroline Lucas, that choice would in effect mean having everything on the ballot except what was voted for in June 2016.
Well there is the nice legal question of what 'No Deal' would actually mean for a start and how one defines that in law. Then there is the fact that, constitutionally, Parliament may not bind its successors, so you cannot make it perpetually impossible to leave the EU on whatever terms you choose.
And finally, there's time. It would require an Act of Parliament that repealed the existing EU Withdrawal Act. That would take months to achieve - since it's unthinkable that such a significant Act of Parliament would be accelerated in such a way as to skip the committee stages.