“There are literally 1,000's of points of law affecting everything from EU arrest warrants to postal services that need to be sorted out.”
Of course there are Eddie. They have evolved over 40 years. And they will not all be resolved by the time we leave. The status quo must prevail after we have left and until they can each be sorted out. That (under the heading “too difficult to do”) is not a valid reason to delay our departure.
“o god look averbardy ! a judge that doesnt know the law !
well that's new !”
I’ve said throughout this thread, Peter, that I do not disagree with the judgement and went so far as to say I doubt it will be overturned. (However some people find it hard to understand that we can be taken to war without a vote in Parliament but cannot withdraw from the EU without one, but I digress).
My comments are directed to those who brought the action. It is the reason (they say) they brought it which I dispute. “Specious” means “apparently good or right though lacking real merit;” This describes perfectly their contention that they brought the action to see that Parliamentary democracy held sway. Nothing can be further from the truth. If you examine the credentials of the group behind the action you will see that, without exception, hey have considerable vested interests in the UK’s continued membership of the EU. They have no interest in Parliamentary democracy (other than that in this instance it may suit their needs). Their aim is to delay and eventually thwart Brexit and they will use every means at their disposal to do so. I don’t mind that provided they are honest and say so. It is their deceit that I cannot tolerate.
We really don’t need to get too bogged down and we should let the dust settle. But the simple fact is this: Parliament voted (in favour 6:1, which means a lot more than just the Tories) voted to give the electorate a referendum. Among the pro-EU propaganda, the government’s own referendum pamphlet, sent to every UK household, said this:
“The referendum on Thursday, 23 June is your chance to decide if we should remain in or leave the European Union.”
“This is your decision. The government will implement what you decide.”
Nothing could be clearer. There were no provisos, no conditions. All the claptrap about “consultative referendum only”; “soft or hard Brexit” and “Parliamentary democracy” is trumped by the above. Mr Cameron, who is on record as saying Article 50 would be triggered on 24th June, has disappeared into the sunset to pick his toys up from the floor and to count his money. Instead of producing his pamphlet he would have been better off ensuring that legislation was in place to carry out his promise (or more of a threat the way he said it) that A50 would have been four months in by now. The electorate are used to being lied to by politicians and suffering from their broken promises. However, Mrs May now has to pick up the pieces of this mess and crack on to ensure the will of the people prevails. And she should not let a handful of dishonest hedge fund managers’ wives, Brazilian hairdressers and ex-pat businessmen get in the way.