‘EU referendum was a MISTAKE!’ Former head of Church in SHOCK anti-Brexit remark
THE EU referendum was a “mistake” and therefore Article 50 should be revoked, the former Archbishop of Canterbury argued last night.
Brexit: EU referendum was a MISTAKE says former church leader
Rowan Williams was appearing on BBC Newsnight when he staged the intervention. The former religious leader said he didn’t think “we ought to put all our trust in referendums”. And he argued the EU referendum was a mistake “in the terms it was presented”.
Mr Williams claimed the EU referendum had been “presented” in an “oversimplified” way and suggested its result could be thwarted by the revoking of Article 50.
Article 50 is the mechanism by which an EU member state begins its exit from the trading bloc.
It had never been triggered before the UK voted to leave the club in June 2016.
But Mr Williams explained he didn’t think the referendum was a good idea in the first place.
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He said: “We are not, as a country, used to referendums.
“We gave I think insufficient attention to what would be a credible majority.
“Insufficient attention to what the constitutional or legal status of such a decision would be.”
The clergyman went on to assert he believed the result, “whether you are pro or anti on the issue” was “something that simply created confusion by the oversimplification of the terms in which it was posed”.
He said: “I would say we cannot arrive at a reasoned, sensible conclusion with the timetable we've got.”
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When asked if he would like to see Article 50 revoked, he said: “Personally I would like to see that.”
Mr Williams’ remarks came after Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a crushing defeat in the Commons on Tuesday.
The vote was, in the words of Remainer Nicky Morgan, a “signal” to the Government of actions to come, as Parliament begins to prise the Brexit process way from the executive.
The defeat saw MPs back an amendment to the Finance Bill, which would limit the scope for tax changes following a no deal unless authorised by MPs, by 303 to 296 votes.
It was styled as a no-deal blow, with Remainers touting it as a major victory.
They claimed it had begun to force the Government away from a damaging no deal exit, which the soothsayers claim will be “catastrophic” for the country.
The Labour leader hailed the development as an "important step" towards preventing a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Corbyn tweeted: "It shows that there is no majority in Parliament, the Cabinet or the country for crashing out of the EU without an agreement."
But before the vote, No 10 said a defeat would be "inconvenient rather than significant", with experts pointing out there were other mechanisms available to Government to raise money.