WITH Theresa May’s Brexit deal yet again failing to get through the House of Commons and a possible delay to the date the UK is due to leave the EU, it is clear that we are simply lurching from crisis to crisis.
One wonders what good an extension will actually do given the negotiating position of both the EU and the UK. The UK is deadlocked, in terms of its people, Parliament and Cabinet and the likelihood of any semblance of a deal that commands the majority of the Commons is unlikely – especially true given the deep divisions within the Tories, both Remainers and Leavers and DUP opposition.
READ MORE: Westminster in meltdown after Brexit vote losses for Theresa May
Given this situation, a UK-wide referendum on the deal, a so-called People’s Vote, with the option to remain in the EU, is the only credible way to break this deadlock. For those who argue that this would damage our democratic process, I am not sure we can slump any lower than the situation we are currently in.
As David Davis, the former Brexit secretary and ardent Leaver, pointed out before the EU referendum: “If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy.”
There are few I know who voted for Brexit in the belief it would make them poorer, and it is up to the public to give its view on whether the deal, and more importantly its implications, are what it wants.
For once I agree with Jacob Rees-Mogg, who initially backed a vote on the renegotiated deal – a statement he curiously seems to have forgotten.
The Scottish Parliament has led the way in backing a People’s Vote and now that we know the precise nature of the deal, it is up to the public to have its say.
Alex Orr
Edinburgh
THE National’s front page headline, “Westminster in meltdown” (March 14), although accurate, makes depressing reading. It would appear that there is no agreed Government strategy and that the personal ambition of some ministers and MPs outweighs their commitment to the electorate.
The PM should resign with immediate effect and either an extension to the time limit beyond March 29 should be sought or, better still, withdraw the application to leave the EU. There is the oft-trumpeted claim that such a move would be to break a vow to Leave voters. How many other promises have already been broken?
If the UK is to try to retain any semblance of a democratic country then there should be a People’s Vote.
Perhaps the PM should reflect on the fact that she has wrecked the UK. Certain segments of our society must also come to terms with the fact that the British Empire is now ancient history and it’s time move on and join the modern world.
Thomas L Inglis
Fintry
THE chaos we are now witnessing in the Westminster Parliament was initiated by David Cameron when he called a referendum on a binary vote for a very complicated and complex problem. His defence of Remain during the hustings was pathetic and he had no answer to “project fear”, all of which has now come true.
After his resignation, Mrs May arrived on the scene, thinking she was the President rather than Prime Minister, and began by issuing the Article 50 notice (which unfortunately 80% of MPs voted for) without any understanding or plan of what was to follow. She then proceeded to negotiate a withdrawal agreement clearly not understanding the complications of the Irish border, giving no thought to the devolved administrations, Gibraltar or the 16.8 million who voted to remain.
It came as no surprise that Parliament voted down her deal but she has ignored that and is still ploughing her own furrow trying to woo the hard right of her party while holding other MPs in contempt. Is it any wonder that the mother of parliaments has become the laughing stock of the world?
The 27 must be thinking “do we really want these unreliable incompetents in our Union?”
Mike Underwood
Linlithgow
THE EU now do not want a long extension to Article 50. This is down to the EU parliamentary elections in May where it is feared that across the EU the far right might do well. The last thing they want is Farage and a like-minded bunch of dissidents arriving from Blighty to reinforce the destructive anti-EU element.
A longer extension than the end of June this year would ensure that the UK holds the EU May elections. So if there is to be another EU referendum, it may be that it has to be held in June before the new European parliament resumes. While this is a tight timescale, it is not impossible.
Some say it will be hard to draft the referendum question. That is logically not true. The Remainers want to stay in the EU so their question is the same as in 2016. A simple vote in Parliament would allow the Brexiteers to choose between May’s deal and crashing out. Remainers should abstain from voting on that question.
If the Brexiteers cannot choose one of the two options available to them, then the Brexit option should be worded in such a way as to show that Brexit is a blind Brexit, which is hardly likely to be successful in the referendum although you never know – Brexit just keeps throwing up surprises!
As a supporter of Scottish independence, I really prefer the clarity that a short extension would bring about. We need to get on with deciding our future path and I hope more than ever it diverges from Westminster – the farce that isn’t funny.
David Crines
Via email
THE Scottish Secretary, David Mundell, last night during yet another Government defeat in the House, at long last did something positive. He abstained!
As a public servant Scotland can depend on, he is irrelevant, as is the office he holds.
J Hamilton
Bearsden
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