On 9^th September we published an article “If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy.” This is a quote from an address given by David Davis in 2012.

Just before we wrote the article, David Davis’s Dept for Exiting the EU was quoted as saying “There can be no attempts to remain inside the EU and no attempt to rejoin it”. This constitutes a blatant attempt to stifle Parliament’s authority and also our democracy, not to mention being apparently contrary to David Davis’s beliefs.

This morning Theresa May is quoted in the Daily Telegraph (paywall) as saying:

“We will not tolerate attempts from any quarter to use the process of amendments to this bill as a mechanism to try to block the democratic wishes of the British people by attempting to slow down or stop our departure from the European Union”.

Apart from the foolishness of pre-judging where the best interests of the UK will be some 16 months in the future in our rapidly-changing world, we have the chief executive of the UK’s government insisting that she is entitled to tell the members of our Sovereign Parliament what they can and cannot do.

What sort of “Taking Back Control” is this – certainly not the sort that puts that control in the hands of Parliament, the UK’s sovereign authority, whose members have a sworn duty to do what is best for the nation and its people.

Why does Theresa May, who expresses such devotion to “the democratic wishes of the British people”, repeatedly attempt to ignore or overrule the UK democratic process? Is democracy important to her or isn’t it?

As we know, the right to confirm, or otherwise, the decision on what is best for the UK is in the hands of the UK’s Parliament: The Three Knights Opinion gives an authoritative legal confirmation of that. Lord Kerr, a co-author of Article 50, has confirmed it again in The Guardian today, and in a case in the EU Court of Justice, the EU Council has said that an action for the loss of rights can only be taken on signature of an irreversible final withdrawal agreement.

There is a political will within the EU for the UK to withdraw the Article 50 notice of intention and for the UK to return to the status quo ante.

But, and this is vastly more important, Parliament must have control of the situation and decide what is in the best interest of the UK, at the point where Parliament and the public know what the exit negotiations have produced.

As we said in our article yesterday “It’s not just the 3 Knights clause that is important”, the issues involved go far beyond the immediate question of whether the UK remains in the EU or not, they strike at the very roots of our system of representative democracy and parliamentary sovereignty.

____________________________________________________

We value your support, both moral and financial. If you share our concerns about the work needed to promote the outcome which is in the best interests of the UK, please consider making a donation by clicking on the Gold Card image.

Our aim is to help people see what’s going on, understand what they are, or aren’t, being told, and decide what is the best outcome for the UK: an outcome in the national interest, protecting fundamental citizenship rights and ensuring Parliament and not the executive is sovereign.

To help protect our fundamental rights, and support Parliament in safeguarding them, please send us a donation so we can maintain our campaign and make your voice heard.

Please share this article as widely as you can, thank you very much for your support.

Published by Grahame Pigney on behalf of The People’s Challenge Ltd.

What is the EU (Withdrawal) Bill?

The bill is supposed to be the legislation required to transform the legislation derived from the UK’s membership of the EU into standalone domestic legislation.

What are “Henry VIII” powers?

The parliamentary website gives this definition of Henry VIII powers:

“The Government sometimes adds this provision to a Bill to enable the Government to repeal or amend it after it has become an Act of Parliament. The provision enables primary legislation to be amended or repealed by subordinate legislation with or without further parliamentary scrutiny.

Such provisions are known as Henry VIII clauses, so named from the Statute of Proclamations 1539 which gave King Henry VIII power to legislate by proclamation.”

Why are the Henry VIII powers in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill so extraordinary?

The Henry VIII powers sought in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill enable the government to amend not only that bill, but any and all legislation including other Acts of Parliament.

This is clearly not the same as what the Government “sometimes” does as explained above.

For instance, the government could use the powers in this bill to extend the period between General Elections or amend the authority, and restrictions placed on that authority, which Parliament has given the government in relation to the UK leaving the EU.

Why is deleting the Charter of Fundamental Rights necessary for the UK to leave the EU?

It is not necessary to delete the Charter of Fundamental Rights in order to transpose EU-derived legislation into standalone UK law.

The only conceivable reason for deleting the Charter is to remove the protections it gives. The government can then, without parliamentary supervision and control, reduce or remove legislative and regulatory provisions which protect ordinary citizens.

As Harriet Harman said (she was talking about women’s rights, her point is valid across the piece), “You should never be complacent about rights which have been really hard-won. There are always people who want to turn the clock back”.

Why is the combination of “Henry VIII” powers and deletion of the Charter so dangerous and sinister?

Deleting the Charter of Fundamental Rights from the UK’s Statute Book removes basic protections for ordinary citizens. This includes essential elements needed to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Once that happens, those seeking to tear down hard-won legislation and regulation protecting us from discrimination on the basis of race, colour, creed or gender can do so without parliamentary oversight and control, simply by using the Henry VIII powers contained in the bill.

They can even roll back the Bill of Rights of 1689, where (for example) regular parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech in Parliament are enshrined, to suit the government’s own interest. In effect they can impose an elected (at least in the first instance) autocracy.

This is a power-grab of monumental proportions.

The government says it won’t abuse the powers it seeks to grab, so why is it trying to grab them? Given the government’s penchant for secrecy and sleight of hand, why should any of us rely on its assurances?

Furthermore, future governments could retain these powers and would not be bound by any assurances given by individuals in the present government as to how they are to be used.

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill must be based on three things: parliamentary sovereignty, proportionality of the legislation (i.e. what’s actually needed to achieve the supposed objective) and what is in the best interest of the UK and its people.

It’s clear that close scrutiny will be required to make sure that none of these are swept away or lost sight of.

Why is “The Three Knights Opinion” important in confirming Parliamentary Sovereignty?

The proposed amendment (number 7 put forward by Dominic Grieve and others) that is probably most widely discussed is that which requires that whatever the exit terms are, they enter into law by means of an Act of Parliament.

This gives Parliament the “meaningful vote” on exit terms agreed (or not agreed). It also ensures that the vote takes place before the exit, which must happen, whatever the nonsense that has recently been talked.

The “meaningful vote” is in line with the legal opinion embodied in “The Three Knights Opinion” we commissioned. At the time of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) debates, all MPs were provided with a copy of that opinion and a briefing note on its importance. This obviously included Theresa May and David Davis.

But the bottom line is that Parliament’s sovereign authority over the acceptance or rejection of the exit terms continues to exist until such time as it is exercised. The exercise of it will be the definitive confirmation of the UK’s exit from the EU or of its decision to remain in the EU.

Although it would be much clearer if that authority were embodied in the EU (Withdrawal) Act, its exclusion does not invalidate Parliament’s authority.

If all of this seems to you to be grounds for concern, please contact your MP, write a letter or make an appointment at the “surgery” perhaps, to discuss things. Here are some suggestions for questions you might want to ask:

1. Do you think it’s necessary to delete the Charter of Fundamental Rights? If so, why? If so, what will be done to protect ordinary people from abuse of their rights? If not, what will you do to defend the rights of ordinary people threatened by this and/or preserve the Charter?
2. Do you think these wider-ranging-than-normal Henry VIII powers are necessary? If so, why? Do you see them as potentially dangerous? If not, why not? How can they be limited to what is proper and prevented from becoming an Executive “blank cheque” to ride rough-shod over any and all existing legislation for an indefinite time? If that is not done, will you refuse to support them?
3. Is this momentous decision one that should be made by our elected sovereign Parliament or by an appointed executive?

Please don’t let yourself be told, “We’re strong and stable…”, “We’ve been very clear about this…”, “If there’s a problem, come and see me…” or similar platitudes.

Whatever the political colour, now is not the time to be fobbed off with such soundbites!

____________________________________________________

We value your support, both moral and financial. If you share our concerns about the work needed to promote the outcome which is in the best interests of the UK, please consider making a donation by clicking on the Gold Card image.

Our aim is to help people see what’s going on, understand what they are, or aren’t, being told, and decide what is the best outcome for the UK: an outcome in the national interest, protecting fundamental citizenship rights and ensuring Parliament and not the executive is sovereign.

To help protect our fundamental rights, and support Parliament in safeguarding them, please send us a donation so we can maintain our campaign and make your voice heard.

Please share this article as widely as you can, thank you very much for your support.

Published by Grahame Pigney on behalf of The People’s Challenge Ltd.

As some of you may have seen yesterday, we said that the Brexit Impact studies would say more about the Govt than they would about Brexit.

Well now we have it. It seems possible, and even likely, that these papers don’t exist, other than as scribbles on a pizza box.

The Govt apparently needs 3 weeks to “compile” these studies. We ordered Impact studies, apparently long since finished, people have been talking about them for weeks! It now seems that we asked for an illuminated Gutenberg Bible in velum and leather bindings.

Did the Govt commission these Impact assessments? When were they commissioned? Have they been completed? Or was the Govt just hoping to string Parliament and the public along, and is only now doing its due diligence because it’s being forced to?

____________________________________________________

We value your support, both moral and financial. If you share our concerns about the work needed to promote the outcome which is in the best interests of the UK, please consider making a donation by clicking on the Gold Card image.

Our aim is to help people see what’s going on, understand what they are, or aren’t, being told, and decide what is the best outcome for the UK: an outcome in the national interest, protecting fundamental citizenship rights and ensuring Parliament and not the executive is sovereign.

To help protect our fundamental rights, and support Parliament in safeguarding them, please send us a donation so we can maintain our campaign and make your voice heard.

Please share this article as widely as you can, thank you very much for your support.

Published by Grahame Pigney on behalf of The People’s Challenge Ltd.

The contents of the soon-to-be-released Brexit Impact studies may supply more detail on the extent of Brexit’s repercussions and give us specifics that we haven’t had up to now.

There is, however, the suspicion that they will simply confirm that the Government is confused about, and unprepared for, where it is taking the UK.

There is also the possibility that our fears, most recently expressed in Gina Miller’s article in the Guardian, will be realised by the Government’s releasing summaries/redactions which tell us far less than the whole story, or even next door to nothing.

However, the options covered in the Brexit impact statements will tell us a lot about the Govt’s intentions and whether it can be trusted – you might have noticed that.

Will it be just deal or no deal? Will it also cover staying in with the status quo?

This information will help to confirm whether Theresa May is attempting to force a particular outcome regardless, and how far the Govt is prepared to go in this endeavour.

These papers have been requested and demanded for months and the Govt has consistently turned down anybody and everybody. This is doubly worrying.

First, the Govt is hiding potentially vital information that our MPs will need when approving, or otherwise, a final deal.

Second, Brexit is already rumoured to be the worst idea since powdered water, so how bad do these Impact assessments have to be for them to give Brexit an even worse name?

It is unknown at this point if and when any of these papers were produced, have some been produced, have any of them? Are there more to come? It would be hard for the Govt to release what it doesn’t have.

Is it merely dissembling or actually secretive, bearing in mind that this Govt has made a habit of secrecy.

Beyond the objectionable nature of such secrecy in a democracy, let us look at the implications of the Impact assessments.

If they give a positive view of Brexit, does anyone have any doubt that they would have been released or leaked already? If on the other hand they give an unfavourable view of Brexit, what right does the Govt have to withhold the truth from us (surely “the people” deserve better than that)?

If Brexit is turning into even more of a disaster, our MPs need the information in order to fulfil their oath and make an informed decision on our behalf. Equally, if we are to go ahead, we have a right to know how bad the damage is going to be so we can communicate with our MPs on that basis.

So finally, the Govt has no basis for keeping the studies secret, nor even for redacting them, not in a democracy.

The only logical conclusion is that this is an attempt to subvert Parliamentary democracy and lie (by omission) to the public.

Whatever the content of the Brexit Impact studies, we and our MPs have a right to know in order to exercise parliamentary democracy and self-determination, and in that I think they will prove useful.

But do not expect that they will throw much light on where the government is taking our country, they will say more about what sort of government this is and the state of chaos and confusion in Whitehall.

____________________________________________________

We value your support, both moral and financial. If you share our concerns about the work needed to promote the outcome which is in the best interests of the UK, please consider making a donation by clicking on the Gold Card image. 

Our aim is to help people see what’s going on, understand what they are, or aren’t, being told, and decide what is the best outcome for the UK: an outcome in the national interest, protecting fundamental citizenship rights and ensuring Parliament and not the executive is sovereign.

To help protect our fundamental rights, and support Parliament in safeguarding them, please send us a donation so we can maintain our campaign and make your voice heard.

Please share this article as widely as you can, thank you very much for your support.

Published by Grahame Pigney on behalf of The People’s Challenge Ltd.