Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
Constitutionally, Parliament is still sovereign. There is no statute or convention to say otherwise. If one existed, Parliament could legislate against it anyway.
However, parliament has created a moral bear trap for itself by allowing a referendum on a specific issue, resulting in the expressed will of the people being placed explicitly at odds with the preferences of MPs. By its own actions, Parliament has allowed the legitimacy of its sovereignty to be questioned. This is worrying, because that really ought to be beyond question, but now here we are.
The constitutional settlement can change. It wasn’t always the way it is now. The actions of Parliament this year, insisting on asserting its sovereignty in the face of a referendum it called and promised to respect, are the very sort of thing that has precipitated crisis and constitutional change in the past. I hope that doesn’t happen because rapid constitutional innovation is messy and in extreme circumstances can turn bloody.
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While I agree with the vast, vast majority of the post Parliament itself isn't designed to be this divided. The May Government would have collapsed many times over if this level of division existed over almost any other issue.
Had May convincingly won the election in 2017 her deal would have been quickly approved and nobody would be debating if the deal was (or wasn't) Brexit. Neither Parliament, or the country, are designed to be this divided on a single toxic issue.