Brexit WILL happen: 'Arrogant' Remoaners told nothing will derail Article 50
THERESA May’s Government has insisted it would not be derailed from carrying out the will of the British people to leave the European Union as opposition MPs made new threats to frustrate the process.
Brexit minister David Jones accused them of trying to “thwart” the referendum vote while anti-EU campaigner Michael Gove condemned pro-EU opponents for being “arrogant”.
They hit back after Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said his troops would try to stop the Prime Minister launching the formal Brexit process unless she first guaranteed a second referendum on the final outcome of her talks.
Another Labour MP added her voice to a growing chorus in Parliament threatening to impede the Prime Minister’s right to launch up to two years of Brexit talks with the rest of the EU by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
A recent High Court case ruled in favour of protestors who claim Mrs May needs Parliament’s approval to invoke Article 50.
Tim Farron WON'T LET GO of a second referendum
But the Government is strongly fighting the decision and its appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court from December 5, with a decision due in the New Year.
Officials are confident they will win the day but have also made contingency plans to keep the Brexit process moving quickly if they lose.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We were given a clear instruction by the British people to leave the EU and the Government is committed to delivering on that.
“Our timetable is unchanged. We will trigger Article 50 by the end of March.”
Mrs May insists the Government has a strong case for claiming the right to go ahead without a vote in Parliament.
Opposition party leaders claim they are not trying to stop Britain leaving the EU after the June 23 referendum.
But many are demanding advance information from the Government about its negotiating stance, and rights over the eventual deal Britain strikes with the rest of the EU on the terms of its departure, expected around March 2019 if Mrs May’s timetable holds true.
Mr Farron, whose party is overwhelmingly pro-EU, underlined the headaches in the pipeline for Mrs May if judges insist she must give MPs an Article 50 veto.
Although he has only eight MPs in the Commons, Mr Farron has an army of more than 100 peers in the unelected House of Lords who could cause havoc by tabling endless amendments to any legislation the courts require, even if they are not allowed a direct vote for or against activating Article 50.
Mr Farron insisted he respected the June 23 referendum decision to leave the EU but said no one should have a Brexit deal “imposed” on them.
He said: “We believe that what started with democracy last June - which we totally respect - must not now end up with a stitch-up, with a deal being imposed on the British people that absolutely nobody voted for.”
MPs from other parties have also indicated they will seek to block progress if given a chance.
The Labour leadership has insisted it will not try to scupper the Article 50 process if a vote is granted but several of its MPs have indicated they are ready to go another way.
Labour MP Helen Hayes MP for Dulwich and West Norwood in Greater London today became the latest to say she would defy her party whips if necessary to try to stand in the way of Brexit.
Other MPs are also likely to vote against Article 50, including the Scottish National Party.
Tim Farron calls for second EU referendum to avoid public being 'stitched up'
Their numbers are not expected to be great enough to defeat the legislation in the House of Commons, but their defiance could give rebel peers more confidence about delaying it in the House of Lords.
We were given a clear instruction by the British people to leave the EU
David Jones, a minister in the Department for Exiting the EU, hit back: “Parliament voted by a margin of six to one to put the decision on whether to remain in, or leave, the EU in the hands of the British people.
“Now, because they didn’t like the first answer, Liberal Democrat and Labour MPs seek to put the question all over again in hope of a different answer.
“They are attempting to thwart and reverse the decision that was taken on June 23.
“Only the Conservatives can be trusted to respect the outcome of the referendum and make a success of Brexit.”
Conservative MP and former Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, a leader of the successful Vote Leave campaign and now a founding supporter of the Change Britain pro-Brexit group, said: “On the 23rd of June, over 17 million people voted to leave the EU and take back control of our laws, borders, money and trade.
“It was the biggest electoral mandate in British history.
“Tim Farron is supposed to lead a democratic party. It is extraordinary that he is now going to vote in parliament to frustrate the will of the people.”
Naming others threatening to put roadblocks in the way of Brexit, Mr Gove added: “MPs like Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Tim Farron should be listening to the views of voters rather than arrogantly attempting to overturn the vote.
“They should be working with us to help make Brexit a success and should respect the result.
“Do they really think that their views are more important than the 17 million people who voted to leave the EU?”
Elsewhere, credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s said it now thought a so-called “hard Brexit” in which Britain left the EU single market was the most likely outcome.
The company, which cut Britain’s gold-plated AAA credit rating to AA shortly after the referendum, said the British government appeared not yet to have accepted the EU was unlikely to yield on its principle that free movement of people around Europe could not be split from the free movement of capital, goods and services which are seen as the bedrocks of easy cross-border trade.
“Even if Westminster were to acknowledge the EU position, it is hard to fathom how a rather hard Brexit can be avoided unless both sides become much more flexible than they appear today,” said S&P chief sovereign credit officer Moritz Kraemer.
Mrs May has refused pro-Remain demands to commit to keeping Britain in the tariff-free single market.
The Prime Minster has said only that she will both secure control over migration from the EU and strike the best possible trade deal for Britain including “maximum possible access to the European market for firms to trade with and operate within the European market”.
Leading Brexit campaigners say Britain will thrive better outside the single market with its bureaucratic complexities, costs and constraints.
Tory MP and former Cabinet Minister John Redwood, a senior “Brexiteer”, said that the ideal outcome was for Britain to leave the Single Market while retaining access to sell into the EU’s internal market.
He said: “I did not find the so-called Single Market helped us much and were I still in post I would not be too worried about departure from it.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "We were given a clear instruction by the British people to leave the EU and the Government is committed to delivering on that.
"Our timetable is unchanged. We will trigger Article 50 by the end of March."