Brexit and My MP - Part 17

29 September 2017

Dear Mrs Milton,

I am appending, post script, the text of an email I received today from the UK Government Petitions Team, although the contents were actually authored by DExEU.

I read this email with mounting sensations of anger and dismay, in equal proportions.

Firstly, the hectoring tone of the response may, at best, be described as unpleasant. In fact, I find it dictatorial and quite unseemly.

Secondly it states that the British people voted to leave the EU. At the risk of being repetitive 37% of the electorate advised the Government that they believed the UK should leave the EU. Sixty three percent did not.

Thirdly it claims that the vote provided a mandate for Brexit. Please would you explain how an advisory referendum produces a mandate?

Fourthly the response argues that the recent general election essentially provided that mandate because the two major parties supported Brexit in their manifestos and those parties were supported by a majority of voters. Whilst technically that is true it is also manifestly evident that the election was about more than Brexit, and that many voters cast their votes with motives other than supporting the UK’s departure.

Fifthly, it is commonly acknowledged that the referendum vote was taken with the majority of voters ignorant of the consequences of Brexit. When an agreement is reached with the 27 other EU members it would appear utterly illogical to then deny the British people the opportunity to accept, or otherwise, that agreement.

Finally, to limit the decision to a choice between accepting the agreement or leaving with no agreement flies in the face of common sense. Ours is a representative democracy and it is perfectly possible for our representatives to take the view that (a) the proposed agreement is unacceptable and that (b) remaining in the EU would be less damaging to the future of the UK that leaving with no agreement. It is totally undemocratic to deny our representatives (i.e. you) the opportunity to express that view and to seek to have it enacted.

Yours sincerely

Richard Bawden

(The who sorry saga of Brexit and my MP is spread across recent months of this blog)

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Hold a referendum on the final Brexit deal”.

Government responded:

On 23 June 2016 the British people voted to leave the European Union. The UK Government is clear that it is now its duty to implement the will of the people and so there will be no second referendum.

The decision to hold the referendum was supported by a clear majority in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. On 23 June 2016 the British people voted to leave the European Union. The referendum was the largest democratic mandate in UK political history. In the 2017 General Election more than 85% of people voted for parties committed to respecting that result.

There must be no attempts to remain inside the European Union, no attempts to rejoin it through the back door, and no second referendum. The country voted to leave the European Union, and it is the duty of the Government to make sure we do just that. Rather than second guess the British people’s decision to leave the European Union, the challenge now is to make a success of it - not just for those who voted leave but for every citizen of the United Kingdom, bringing together everyone in a balanced approach which respects the decision to leave the political structure of the EU but builds a strong relationship between Britain and the EU as neighbours, allies and partners.

Parliament passed an Act of Parliament with a clear majority giving the Prime Minister the power to trigger Article 50, which she did on 29 March in a letter to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. As a matter of firm policy, our notification will not be withdrawn - for the simple reason that people voted to leave, and the Government is determined to see through that instruction.

Both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to vote on the final agreement reached with the EU before it is concluded. This will be a meaningful vote which will give MPs the choice to either accept the final agreement or leave the EU with no agreement.

The people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe. We want a deep and special partnership with the EU. We aim to get the right deal abroad and the right deal for people here at home. We will deliver a country that is stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking than ever before.

Department for Exiting the European Union