A timeline of some of the Brexiters’ use of Parliament sovereignty as their key argument to make Brexit happen – i.e. when it fits their narrative.

2016.

During the EU Referendum, one of the Brexiters’ favourite slogan was about taking back control of our laws. 52% of British voters thus voted to leave the EU.
Brexiters: “Let’s take back control! Let’s make our Parliament sovereign again!”

January 2017.

Gina Miller won a legal fight to get Parliament to vote on whether the UK could start the process of leaving the EU (triggering Article 50).
Brexiters call the judges: “Enemies of the people.”

November 2017.

MPs defeated Theresa May’s Government and voted to have a meaningful vote on the final deal.
Brexiters: “Tory rebels should be deselected and never allowed to stand as a Tory MP, ever again!”

January/March 2019.

After MPs voted down 3 times Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement, they could not find a majority for anything else either in the House of Commons.
Brexiters: “MPs are frustrating the will of the people.”

July/August 2019.

The EU told the new Prime Minister and his Government that the deal is the only one on the table and they will not renegotiate.
Brexiters: “No way! The EU should respect our sovereign Parliament. Our MPs voted 3 times against the Withdrawal Agreement.”

August 2019.

MPs want to block a no-deal Brexit and threaten to vote no-confidence in the Prime Minister.
Brexiters: “Johnson will resist and remain in Number 10 even if MPs vote no-confidence against him.”

Either Brexiters want Parliament sovereignty or they don’t, but they just can’t have it both ways, and use it as an argument they throw at their opponents’ faces depending on how it fits their narrative.🔷

[This is an original piece, first published by the author in PoliticsMeansPolitics.com on 7 August 2019 . | The author writes in a personal capacity.]

(Cover: Flickr/Number 10. - Black Rod in Central Lobby. | 21 June 2017. / Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)