Pro-EU MPs May Ignore Referendum Result

So it’s SOD Democracy then! Remain MPs have finally shown the British electorate that they are wolves in sheep’s clothing or Fascists disguised as Democrats.

Stephen Morris, General Secretary of the Workers of England Union, stated: You couldn’t get a clearer example of the contempt that remain MPs have for the British public. This reason alone is a good enough reason for people to vote for Leave. It is just that type of attitude in government that needs to be removed. It is no surprise that they are happy working with unelected EU bureaucrats as they don’t care about public opinion.

MPs ‘Considering Using Majority’ to Keep UK in Single Market

By James Landale, Diplomatic Correspondent

EU Referendum

Pro-Remain MPs are considering using their Commons majority to keep Britain inside the EU single market if there is a vote for Brexit, the BBC has learned.

The MPs fear a post-Brexit government might negotiate a limited free trade deal with the EU, which they say would damage the UK’s economy.

There is a pro-Remain majority in the House of Commons of 454 MPs to 147. A Vote Leave campaign spokesman said MPs will not be able to “defy the will of the electorate” on key issues.

The single market guarantees the free movement of goods, people, services and capital. The BBC has learned pro-Remain MPs would use their voting power in the House of Commons to protect what they see as the economic benefits of a single market, which gives the UK access to 500 million consumers.

Staying inside the single market would mean Britain would have to keep its borders open to EU workers and continue paying into EU coffers.

Free Trade vs Single Market

Explore these BBC resources:

• Free trade area v single market – what’s the difference?
• Who has access to the single market?
• How does Norway’s relationship with the EU work?

Reverse Maastricht Process and Parliamentary Sovereignty

Ministers have told the BBC they expect pro-EU MPs to conduct what one called a “reverse Maastricht” process—a reference to the long parliamentary campaign fought by Tory eurosceptic MPs in the 1990s against legislation deepening EU integration.

Like then as now, the Conservative government has a small working majority of just 17. They say it would be legitimate for MPs to push for the UK to stay in the single market because the Leave campaign has refused to spell out what trading relationship it wants the UK to have with the EU in the future.

As such, a post-Brexit government could not claim it had a popular mandate for a particular model. One minister said: This is not fantasy. This is a huge probability. The longer we move away from the referendum, the more the economic pressures will grow to keep some links with the single market.

Another added: We would accept the mandate of the people to leave the EU. But everything after that is negotiable and Parliament would have its say. The terms on which we leave are entirely within my remit as a parliamentarian and that is something for me to take a view on.

Labour, SNP and the Norway Model Debate

Labour frontbenchers say they have also been discussing the option. One said it would be hard for pro-Brexit MPs to resist the Commons deciding Britain’s future relationship with the EU, as it would demonstrate the principle of parliamentary sovereignty eurosceptics have been demanding for years.

An SNP frontbencher commented: Parliament is not going to let Boris Johnson and Michael Gove get away with murder. I just don’t think people are going to roll over, particularly on our trading relationship with the EU.

Many pro-Leave campaigners support a limited free trade relationship with the EU, based on the deal about to be signed between Canada and the EU. One alternative option put forward by pro-EU MPs would be for the UK to stay part of the single market by continuing its membership of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

‘Lose-Lose Situation’

Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP for Aberavon, said: If the British people voted to leave the EU that’s one thing. But can we really say that they voted for the devastation and destruction of the entire exporting sector of our economy? I don’t think you can necessarily say that there’s a democratic mandate for that.

He warned there could be a constitutional crisis if MPs voted to keep Britain’s borders open, something people would have rejected in the referendum. In a sense it’s a lose-lose situation. I don’t see how you untie that Gordian knot because you’re looking at a massive economic crisis going down the track of the Canada model and a constitutional crisis going down the track of the Norway model.

Legislative Challenges After Withdrawal

Pro-EU MPs could use their voting muscle later this year when a post-Brexit Tory government would be expected to put its negotiating plans to Parliament. The repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 and the introduction of new Acts to implement the withdrawal agreement would require thousands of amendments or repeals of existing EU-derived legislation. Ministers say this process could take years and would provide determined pro-EU MPs lots of opportunity to cause trouble.

Charles Grant, director of the pro-EU Centre for European Reform think tank, commented: I think it is quite possible that Parliament would vote to impose the Norway model on a post-Brexit Tory government. Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are free marketers down to their finger tips and might be quite happy to be beaten up by Parliament and have this model imposed on them. They might protest but secretly quite like it. The pressure for Britain to retain some linkage with the single market would be overwhelming.

Enormous Pressure from Business and MPs

One senior Tory MP said: There is all this talk of eurosceptics engaging in guerrilla warfare after a vote for Remain. It could be the other way round. The overwhelming majority of Labour, SNP, odds and sods and a hard core of Conservative MPs could make life very difficult.

Another said there would be “enormous pressure” from businesses to get “much better access to the single market”. One Labour MP added: There will be as much fun and games as possible to stop it and block it and delay it.

A newly-elected Tory government – potentially with a larger majority – could seek to call an early general election by voting to suspend the Fixed Term Parliament Act.

Campaign Statements

Leave campaign spokesman: If you vote Leave, Britain will negotiate a British option which will end the supremacy of EU law and take back control of our borders and our democracy and our economy.

Remain campaign spokesman: The Leave campaign can’t tell us what would happen if we vote to leave. At every point, they have admitted they ‘just don’t know’. Leaving Europe would be a leap in the dark that would damage our economy, lead to price rises and job cuts. That’s why we will be spending the next two and a half weeks campaigning for every vote to protect Britain’s future.

Previous Post: Cutting Through the EU Confusion

Next Post: Advice on Dress Codes