The pandemonium surrounding Brexit has been given a new lease of life by a High Court ruling that the Prime Minister cannot bypass Parliament and trigger Article 50 without their approval. Will this ever end?
Ever since Theresa May took over the reigns from David Cameron, she has vowed to respect and honour the wish of the people and lead Britain out of the EU. However, someone has just come along and thrown an almighty spanner in the works and the government has spiralled back into chaos. As someone who wants Britain to remain in the EU, I’m tempted to join other Remainers in rejoicing, but the hard reality is the majority of those who took part in the referendum voted to leave and that needs to be respected. Sure, there were some “I-shouldn’t-have-voted-to-leave” Regretters and “I-thought-we-were-going-to-win-so-I-didn’t-bother-to-vote” Regretters who would have tipped the balance the other way, but June 23rd 2016 wasn’t a practice run, it was the real thing, and we lost.
So, what happens now?
More chaos and frustration on both sides, but here’s a small list of the immediate aftermath of the ruling:- The government has admitted that the High Court is correct and that an Act of Parliament will likely be needed in order to proceed with Brexit, the reaction in Europe is that Theresa May has been utterly humiliated, Nigel Farage has raged on about betrayal and a revolution if the will of the people is ignored, vitriol, online abuse and death threats have been levelled against Gina Miller, the businesswoman who filed the lawsuit against the government, a new poll reveals if a second referendum were to be held, most people would vote to stay, a little bit of life was breathed into the pound as it surged to a four-week high.
The game is definitely not over, though. Brace yourselves for more drama as the government will almost certainly lodge an appeal, ensuring that the battle rages on.