Parliament must vote on whether or not the Government can trigger Article 50, the High Court has today ruled. The case, which has been ongoing for some time, began when members of Parliament believed the referendum should be seen as more of an opinion poll rather than sovereign and that the vote should ultimately be in the hands of Parliament. The decision means the Government cannot trigger Article 50 until the vote has been cast.
The Lord Chief Justice stated "The government does not have power under the Crown's prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 for the UK to withdraw from the European Union." He then added that there would be plenty of opportunities for the House of Commons to negotiate what deal the Government should try and strike.
This is seen as huge victory for Remainers and other Members of Parliament who believed that they should have some say in what deal the Government, if any, try to negotiate.
It all comes as many people believe we should try to stop Brexit from happening.
The Government will appeal the ruling by the High Court and a hearing will be held at some point next month though it is unlikely it will be overturned. They state that the result of the referendum earlier this year means that MPs do not need to have a say on the matter.
Despite attempting negotiations with the EU, the Brussels based Parliament continues to insist that until Article 50 is triggered, negotiations will not begin. Prime Minister Theresa May however continues to attempt discussions with the various leaders within the EU in order to strike a deal that will best suit Britain.
Regardless of the progress made, the Conservative Party have confirmed that they will trigger the move to leave the EU by March 2017, an announcement made at their 2016 party conference.
The referendum was held on June 23rd of this year and despite tight polling in favour of Remain, the outcome was a narrow victory for the Leave campaign winning by just 4% confirming Brexit. The result sent shockwaves through the global political landscape sending the markets into a decline and leaving the rest of the EU in a powerful position.
