When she said “Brexit means Brexit”, it looks like she wasn’t bluffing.
There have been a number of political commentators who have claimed that Brexit may well never occur. The suggestion is that triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will be delayed and delayed for so long that the formal commencement of a two-year negotiated exit will never take place.
During her Conservative Party leadership campaign, Theresa May famously stated:
“Brexit means Brexit, and we’re going to make a success of it…we need to unite our party and our country, and we need a bold new positive vision for the future of our country.”
Her detractors argued that this was merely hollow rhetoric to placate the pro-Brexit members of her party. May herself of course campaigned and voted for the UK to remain in the European Union. But according to the Telegraph, it seems the David Cameron’s successor was deadly serious and is ready to forge ahead.
The broadsheet reports that the Prime Minister plans to trigger Brexit negotiations without having a vote in the Commons beforehand. Many pro-Remain MPs were banking on a Parliamentary intervention for such a monumental decision, regardless of the public mandate afforded by the EU Referendum.
According to a Downing Street insider:
“The Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that the British public have voted and now she will get on with delivering Brexit.”
The news has been received with a predictably mixed response. Pro-Brexiters welcome the leak, whilst critics argue that a Parliamentary vote is absolutely necessary.
Telegraph reporting that Prime Minister will invoke Article 50 without vote of MPs. Quite right too. Brexit means Brexit.
— Glyn Davies (@GlynDavies) August 26, 2016
https://twitter.com/toadmeister/status/769311964023648258
Both Telegraph and Express say May won't hold Parliament vote before trigger Article 50. Deplorable Undemocratic. Parliament must decide
— Mike Gapes ⚒🇺🇦🇬🇧 (@MikeGapes) August 26, 2016
There are many rationalisations like this one. But a Brexit without an explicit vote is a weak Brexit. https://t.co/N2oB9dHNt5
— Valerius Ander (MM) – Omnologos (@omnologos) August 27, 2016
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