The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are clear that it is the United Kingdom’s Government’s decision on when to trigger Article 50. I fully support the Government’s position.
I was disappointed by the High Court’s judgement. The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by Act of Parliament and the Government is determined to respect the result of the referendum. I am glad that it will appeal this judgement.
The Conservative Government’s 2015 election manifesto also pledged to “respect the outcome” of the EU referendum, whatever the result was. The Government therefore has a clear electoral mandate to implement the result of the referendum and reflect the will of the British people.
The Government has been clear that Brexit means Brexit and we are going to make a success of it. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door, and no second referendum. The referendum campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high, and the public gave their verdict. The country voted to leave the European Union, and it the duty of the Government to make sure we do just that.
Parliament will of course have a say on withdrawal, not least through the Great Repeal Bill. The Great Repeal Bill, to be introduced in the next parliamentary session, will remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book. This means that the legislation which gives direct effect to all EU law in Britain, will no longer apply from the date upon which the UK formally leave the EU. The existing body of EU law will be converted to UK law wherever practical and Parliament will be free to amend, repeal and improve any law that it chooses.
