Tyler Durden
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Via Zerohedge…
Pro-European MPs from various political parties are pushing back against claims made by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government that a second Brexit referendum – which supporters have branded as a “People’s Vote” on May’s deal – would take roughly 14 months to organize, according to RT.
I have got hold a copy of the guidance setting out why it takes 12 months to organise another EU refrendum. You can read it for yourself here: https://t.co/5iBxHvkxKR
— Christopher Hope???? (@christopherhope) January 17, 2019
But while support for a second vote grows, one of the most notorious proponents of the original “Vote Leave” campaign is hinting at a possible return to politics to try and fight the effort.
After abandoning UKIP, the party he helped create, late last year, Nigel Farage said Friday that he would be willing to wage another “Vote Leave” campaign, even if he needed to use another party as the “vehicle” for his opposition. Farage also pointed out that a delay of Brexit Day would likely put it after the European Parliament elections in May.
“I think, I fear that the House of Commons is going to effectively overturn that Brexit. To me, the most likely outcome of all of this is an extension of Article 50. There could be another referendum,” he told Sky News.
According to official government guidance shown to lawmakers on Wednesday, which was subsequently leaked to the Telegraph, as May tries to head off a push by ministers who see a second referendum as the best viable alternative to May’s deal – a position that’s becoming increasingly popular with Labour Party MPs.
“In order to inform the discussions, a very short paper set out in factual detail the number of months that would be required, this was illustrative only and our position of course is that there will be no second referendum,,” May said. The statement comes as May has been meeting with ministers and leaders from all parties to try to find a consensus deal that could potentially pass in the House of Commons.
The 14 month estimate is how long May and her government expect it would take to pass the primary legislation calling for the referendum (seven months), conduct the question testing with the election committee (12 weeks), pass secondary legislation (six weeks) and conduct the campaigns (16 weeks).
May has repeatedly insisted that a second referendum wouldn’t be feasible because it would require a lengthy delay of Brexit Day, and because it would set a dangerous precedent that wouldn’t offer any more clarity (if some MPs are unhappy with the outcome, couldn’t they just push for a third referendum?). A spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street said the guidance was produced purely for the purpose of “illustrative discussion” and that the government continued to oppose another vote.
Meanwhile, a vote on May’s “Plan B”, expected to include a few minor alterations from the deal’s previous iteration, has been called for Jan. 29, prompting some MPs to accuse May of trying to run out the clock. May is expected to present the new deal on Monday.
Former Tory Attorney General and pro-remainer MP Dominic Grieve blasted May’s timetable as wrong and said that the government “must be aware of it themselves,” while former Justice Minister Dr Phillip Lee, who resigned his cabinet seat in June over May’s Brexit policy, denounced her warning as “nonsense.”
Dominic Grieve – The #PeoplesVote timetable put forward by the government is simply wrong https://t.co/rq0MdPMqhI pic.twitter.com/omiuOUrzrY
— People's Vote UK (@peoplesvote_uk) January 17, 2019
Nonsense. It’s high time we dealt in facts. We can hold a referendum much more quickly if the Government commits to this solution that’s fair as well as swift and gets behind it. People have a #RighttoVote on this & it’s a sign of desperation that the Govt is trying to deny them https://t.co/CtWH0h8WX6
— Dr Phillip Lee MP (@DrPhillipLeeMP) January 17, 2019
As May pieces together her revised deal, more MPs are urging her to drop her infamous “red lines” (Labour in particular would like to see the UK remain part of the Customs Union), but with no clear alternative to May’s plan emerging, a delay of Brexit Day is looking like a virtual certainty.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Any UK government or politicians that don’t/can’t deliver on BREXIt will find themselves unemployed for a very long time. The British people have spoken, it’s now up to the politicians to deliver and if they can’t deliver BREXIT, they should stand down and trigger a by election so we can get people in parliament who can, and will deliver BREXIT!.
Yes, well said! And I hope that FREXIT for France will follow soon.
This is how Russian TV reports about Brexit- No Brexit. The Russians are observing this Brexit-Circus in Great Britain and the EU Parliament with great interest and amusement:
Sadly, betrayal and self-interest are in the blood of most MP’s and always have been. The rank and file of the UK have always been good enough to die for Britain in wars that have benefited the ruling classes, but in the most democratic vote the UK has ever had, the wishes of the rank and file are about to be betrayed.
UK would be in a much better position to impose its conditions and red lines on the EU if it exited first and then would have leverage to force the EU into a reasonable deal to save that part of EU economy, which above all affects Germany, the EU decision maker.
I absolutely agree – the government should have told the EU the UK will leave the EU three months after the referendum and then we’ll sort out the terms!.
Go home Farage. You made your point the first time and it was a good point. Your advice was followed amd will doubtless be followed again (rightfully so), but you ran away at a moment of glory and are the last one to lead a charge right now. Pick your champion and back away.
I hope this Brexit thing will be resolved soon, one way or the other. The constant bombarding of readers with Brexit in the western media is getting boring. One British government poop says this, another British government poop says that – and so forth and so on, ad nauseam. Do we have to know what each British government poop has to say? Get Brexit, get over it. And please do not report each single step forward and backwards, if possible. The Germans have a saying for this: “den Quark breit treten”.
I know how you feel and I’m British. We need to get BREXIT done, deal or no deal so everyone can move on!.
Yes, Normski, I hope that BREXIT will get done.
I wonder why Farage is making such a U-turn now. He should know how hard it is to fight against the EU bureaucracy, which holds European nations in a straightjacket.
Here he is, interviewing Marine Le Pen who did not win the French Presidency, although she tried hard: