Brexit: What we now know

Just last Thursday, we called on Theresa May to break her silence over her plans for Brexit. At the Conservative Party Conference yesterday, she did so. While an indication of timeline is welcome, it is outcomes that matter. And achieving the best possible outcome will depend on the right process of engagement and consultation with those affected by the decisions the Government takes on Brexit. For example, we don’t know how the Government intends to consult Scotland, or heavily affected sectors such as agriculture and finance. And we don’t know how the Cabinet intends to work together on these issues, or which ministers are sitting on the Brexit Cabinet Committee. But here’s what we do know:

Article 50 will be triggered by March 2017 This was the most concrete – and unsurprising – announcement yesterday. It confirms that the Government does not intend to follow the advice of some Brexiteers who argued that the UK should leave unilaterally without using Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – a move which would have put the UK in breach of its international treaty obligations. This doesn’t necessarily tell us the exact date of Brexit, of course. The two-year negotiation period could be extended with the unanimous consent of the 27 other member states. But if the process were completed within two years, it would mean the UK leaving before the next European Parliament elections (June 2019), resolving the question of whether the UK should elect a new set of MEPs at that point.

The ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will untie our laws from the EU The Prime Minister also intends to include a ‘Great Repeal Bill’ in the 2017 Queen’s Speech to repeal the European Communities Act 1972. This bill will also replicate all EU law in UK statute at the point when the UK leaves. We have not been told that it will repeal any existing EU laws – so not yet the ‘bonfire of red tape’ that some promised. This is not really news. It would be impossible for the UK to review, repeal or amend the entire body of EU legislation within the two-year timetable for Article 50. This approach (called ‘grandfathering’ in Parliamentary terms) will enable subsequent governments to undertake this enormous task in slower time during the years following Brexit. But the announcement does confirm the Government’s approach to achieving legal continuity at the moment of Brexit.

Parliament will not have strong involvement Theresa May rejected any role for Parliament in the triggering of Article 50, and reiterated her previous line that she would not ‘give a running commentary’ to Parliament on the negotiations as they progressed. None of this bodes well for those in Westminster hoping to establish a constructive role for Parliament in scrutinising the negotiations. It is understandable that some aspects of the negotiations will need to remain private. But it is disappointing to hear the Prime Minister once again downplay the constitutional role of Parliament and implicitly reject the value that parliamentarians might add to the process.