What the Supreme Court Article 50 ruling on Brexit actually means for Theresa May and what happens now
THE GOVERNMENT has lost the Supreme Court appeal on whether the Prime Minister can trigger Article 50 without Parliamentary approval.
The landmark ruling now means Theresa May must pass legislation before she can kick-start EU divorce talks, and below is an outline of what happens next:
The Brexit Secretary David Davis will address Parliament at 12.30pm today to go through the judgment and outline the Government’s plan moving forward.
The Prime Minister has said she wants to invoke Article 50, starting the two-year exit from the EU, by March 31, meaning any new law must be rushed through parliament.
Sources said minister had been planning for this outcome, and have contingency plans in place.
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It is not expected he will present a bill today, but that could happen as soon as tomorrow.
MPs will then have the choice to approve the bill, reject it or pass it with amendments, which could potentially slow down or block Brexit form happening.
The best case for the government would be to avoid primary legislation and involve parliament through a substantive motion – a proposal put forward for debate and a vote.
Legislation would take longer as it involves various stages of debate and approval, and it can also be held up by so-called ‘ping pong’, whereby a bill goes back and forth between the lower and upper house being amended and voted on.
Lawmakers in the House of Commons are thought to be unlikely to try to stop Brexit altogether, however, a cross-party group of lawmakers, who support a “soft Brexit”, whereby Britain stays in or remains close to the EU single market, have demanded a greater say for parliament in negotiations and say they might try to pass amendments that guarantee this.
The government may also face trouble in the House of Lords, where the ruling Conservatives do not have a majority.
If the Lords were to block the bill the government could decide overrule it using the Parliament Act, although it cannot re-table the bill until the next parliamentary session.
What is Article 50?
THERESA May’s Brexit plans have been thrown into chaos after judges defied the will of the people over Brexit.
The Lisbon Treaty came into force on December 1 2009 as the culmination of the EU’s eight year quest to make the organisation “more democratic, more transparent and more efficient”.
It set out a number of rules and posts including the introduction of the EU Presidency, redistribution of voting weights of member states and Article 50.
Article 50 states: “Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.”
It then goes on to say that a state wishing to withdraw will let the European Council know it intends to leave which will “trigger” the article.
At this point the Treaties that bound Britain to EU rules cease to apply and the terms of leaving will begin to be negotiated.
The new parliamentary session usually starts in May or June, so that would delay the Brexit process significantly.
Lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, an outspoken Remainer, has predicted Brexit could be delayed until after the 2020 election.
The pound has wobbled following Supreme Court’s historic Article 50 ruling.
