Letter to Chuka Umunna re Brexit
Unwinding the #Brexit referendum result. Please support the #Bremain campaign
Mr Chuka Umunna
MP for Streatham
Dear Chuka
Parliament's Responsibility Regarding Brexit
I am writing to ask you to take up with your fellow MPs that Parliament should decide that the UK does not invoke Art 50 TFEU to terminate its membership of the EU.
Reasons:
The referendum is not legally binding on anyone.
There is no legally specified majority which forms the basis of any decision.
A matter of such fundamental constitutional importance should not be decided on a bare majority (by comparison, under company law, the constitution of a company can only be changed with a special majority usually 75%. It cannot be right that the country’s basis position as such should be decided on such a narrow margin).
It is now the case that Parliament decides fundamental issues of international relations such as acts of war. This is of at least the equivalent significance and thus Parliament must decide.
The decision to remain in the EU was supported by Scotland, Northern Ireland and London. No other electoral decision making ignores these national and local identities. The constituency system, on the contrary, gives effect to them.
A YouGov poll has suggested that 75% of voters under the age of 35 voted to remain. It would be a travesty of democracy for such a long term decision to be made contrary to the wishes of those who have most at stake and represent the future of the country.
As a result, any action to invoke art 50 by the Government in these circumstances is entirely without democratic legitimacy.
Despite the result of the referendum it is plainly against the interests of the country for the UK to leave the EU. The immediate fallout is more than enough evidence.
Since it is probably the single most important issue of our time I am writing to suggest a way forward out of the disaster that is looming. I’m sure you have been deluged on this subject. As a London MP you will recognise the destructive effect it will have on our city. The impending dismembering of the UK, let alone the implications for Europe and the world make it imperative for Parliament to exercise this historic responsibility.
Your sincerely
Professor Gavin Giovannoni
Mr Chuka Umunna
MP for Streatham
Dear Chuka
Parliament's Responsibility Regarding Brexit
I am writing to ask you to take up with your fellow MPs that Parliament should decide that the UK does not invoke Art 50 TFEU to terminate its membership of the EU.
Reasons:
The referendum is not legally binding on anyone.
There is no legally specified majority which forms the basis of any decision.
A matter of such fundamental constitutional importance should not be decided on a bare majority (by comparison, under company law, the constitution of a company can only be changed with a special majority usually 75%. It cannot be right that the country’s basis position as such should be decided on such a narrow margin).
It is now the case that Parliament decides fundamental issues of international relations such as acts of war. This is of at least the equivalent significance and thus Parliament must decide.
The decision to remain in the EU was supported by Scotland, Northern Ireland and London. No other electoral decision making ignores these national and local identities. The constituency system, on the contrary, gives effect to them.
A YouGov poll has suggested that 75% of voters under the age of 35 voted to remain. It would be a travesty of democracy for such a long term decision to be made contrary to the wishes of those who have most at stake and represent the future of the country.
As a result, any action to invoke art 50 by the Government in these circumstances is entirely without democratic legitimacy.
Despite the result of the referendum it is plainly against the interests of the country for the UK to leave the EU. The immediate fallout is more than enough evidence.
Since it is probably the single most important issue of our time I am writing to suggest a way forward out of the disaster that is looming. I’m sure you have been deluged on this subject. As a London MP you will recognise the destructive effect it will have on our city. The impending dismembering of the UK, let alone the implications for Europe and the world make it imperative for Parliament to exercise this historic responsibility.
Your sincerely
Professor Gavin Giovannoni
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