A recent development within the British government might mean this summer’s Brexit referendum was all for naught. A United Kingdom court announced Thursdsay Parliament must vote on the decision to leave the European Union.
This has led to significant controversy, with citizens raising concerns about Parliament overriding the will of the people, which is a scary thought for any nation built on representative government.
But it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. The government is justifying this vote by pointing out the need for legal and diplomatic analysis of this decision to make sure the transition goes well.
It is understandable that British legislators need to still vote on the logistics of this change. While other proponents point to the misinformation spread amongst voters during this referendum, not to mention the potential consequences of such a departure, in all actuality it looks as though the United Kingdom will keep with the decision of the people.
One consequence of this decision will be that the Prime Minister will have to work closely with Parliament instead of doing however she pleases behind closed doors.
Aside from that, the central motivation for this vote in Parliament is to allow the government to develop a more detailed strategy as to how to approach the departure process. This is admittedly necessary in retaining economic stability and to ensure there isn’t a sudden shock to the British or EU ways of life in the wake of this drastic change.
However, this may also just be a stalling tactic to slow down the departure, a move by Parliament to delay what they view to be a bad decision.
There are legitimate reasons for this sort of decision, and after an explanation this vote sounds less radical than it does at first. It does make sense for statesmen to vote on the nature and the logistics of leaving.
But it leaves open the potential for a sort of defiance of the referendum of the citizens of the U.K. This sort of potential for administrative deviance from the will of its people is frightening, and should these politicians decide to abuse this potential, the backlash will be enormous, and the credibility of the U.K. government will be called into question.
Therefore, it would be exceedingly stupid for Parliament to vote to stay in at this point, but having the referendum and considering the possibility of leaving the EU was exceedingly stupid, so anything could happen.
While Brexit isn’t ideal, in asking the question of independence, the United Kingdom opened up the possibility, and the British government needs to listen to the response of their people, even if it isn’t the answer they wanted to hear.
