Saturday 1 December 2018

 

 SOVEREIGNTY




   Why it Matters

Under normal circumstances sovereignty is thought to lie with the people's representatives, elected to serve in Parliament and for most purposes, this goes unchallenged. However, there are occasions, such as in a national referendum when Parliament chooses to acknowledge the ultimate authority of the true holders of sovereignty and passes an important decision to the British people. 

Such an occasion occurred on 23rd June 2016, when Parliament asked the British electorate to decide whether or not to remain in, or leave the European Union. It's now a matter of historical fact that a majority of those eligible to vote, voted to leave. All political parties promised to accept the result & to implement the referendum result in Parliament as instructed by the electorate. 

The reason all of the above matters is because, since the referendum and despite the promises to deliver Brexit, the members of the Government charged with this responsibility have proven unequal to the task. They have prevaricated, obfuscated and argued about the meaning and legitimacy of the referendum result and have demonstrated a level of treacherous incompetence rarely witnessed in any arena of public life. 

They have had two and a half years to deliver a clean break from the European Union and have failed so spectacularly that they have exposed their own deplorable incompetence and revealed their lack of willingness to implement the wishes of the people, whom they had charged with deciding this very important and divisive issue.

Theresa May's proposed Brexit agreement is a work of such monumental ineptitude, timidity and deceit that it's resulted in significant resignations from her own Cabinet and has alienated so many in her own party and beyond that it's very unlikely to be approved by Parliament. In such circumstances it would be right and proper for all MP's of good conscience to accept the result and allow the UK to leave the tentacles of the European Union without a deal, thus delivering on their promises to respect the result of the referendum and ensuring that we regain full and unfettered control of our laws, borders, finances, agriculture, fisheries, tariffs, and all other matters vouchsafed to a sovereign nation.

Instead, what we are witnessing is various increasingly desperate and duplicitous plans to prevent Parliament from accepting a no deal Brexit and this takes us to the heart of the issue of sovereignty and the question of where, and with whom, it ultimately resides. 

For, if Parliament attempts to thwart Brexit by refusing to allow a no deal scenario to pass, then it will clearly have placed itself in direct opposition to the expressed will of the people and will have usurped sovereignty from its true holders and made an enemy of its own citizens. 

Under such circumstances it must expect at best rigorous legal challenges as to its own legitimacy and questions as to whether such a denial of the people's expressed will is unconstitutional and therefore illegal; and at worst it could result in protest and civil unrest. An outcome which would be very regrettable, but in view of such a blatant disregard of the people's wishes, it would be understandable.