A referendum got us into this mess and only a referendum can decisively get us out of it
2 min read
It is quite clear that the Conservative Government, assisted by important figures in the Corbyn Labour leadership have been desperate to prevent the issue going back to the public in a democratic popular vote whether on the terms of the ill fated Withdrawal agreement or anything else which Parliament might agree in place of it, says Mike Gapes MP.
Parliament has done more to resolve the Brexit crisis in two weeks than the government has done in more than two years. However we have not yet reached an agreed or sustainable solution and time is rapidly running out. It is quite clear that the Conservative Government, assisted by important figures in the Corbyn Labour leadership have been desperate to prevent the issue going back to the public in a democratic popular vote whether on the terms of the ill fated Withdrawal agreement or anything else which Parliament might agree in place of it.
In addition the Government was desperate to stop the UK participating in European Parliament elections on May 23. As I pointed out in the third Meaningful Vote debate on the Withdrawal Bill it should have been called “not the Withdrawal Bill but the Prevention of the Right of the British People to vote in a European Election Bill”.
The essence of the problem we have been facing is the conflict between our representative Parliamentary democracy and a vague undefined simplistic referendum. The original 2016 referendum was not legally binding and was as the Europe Minister, David Lidington, made clear at the time “advisory” to Parliament. The narrow result, the lack of clarity about what kind of Leave had been agreed, the internal crisis within the Conservative Party, the premature triggering of Article 50 and the incompetent way in which the Government have conducted the negotiations have all got us into this mess.
This week Parliament came close to agreeing a way forward. It is now clear that there could be a way out based on bringing together the Customs Union proposal of Ken Clarke and the Confirmatory public vote proposal of Peter Kyle.
If Parliament did that we could get wide cross party support. A referendum got us into this mess. And only a referendum can decisively get us out of it.
However if that is not possible then we must find other ways to stop the economic and political disaster of our country crashing out of the EU without a deal. If we cannot agree on any other way forward then we must apply an emergency brake and revoke Article 50 before April 12th.
Mike Gapes is a member of The Independent Group and MP for Ilford South.
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