Have we Reached Peak Brexit Yet?

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By Jason Michael

Yesterday Brexit was a nightmare. Today Brexit is a waking ordeal with an “openly gay” judge, a pathetic looking government, and the prospect of Boris Johnson in Number 10 taking Brexit on its Titanic voyage into an icy and unforgiving Europe.

Well the High Court of England and Wales finally put paid to Theresa May’s supercilious dream that parliament wasn’t sovereign, sending the process of triggering Article 50 into the air. In true retro fashion the Daily Mail vented that an “openly gay” judge robbed the British people of their Brexit, but that’s far from the case. Brexit is still going ahead and Article 50 is still primed to be pressed. All that has changed is that the High Court has reminded the Prime Minister that parliamentary democracy still matters – and, if she wishes to debate the issue, we are headed into a third constitutional crisis in as many years. If reassuring the markets by restoring confidence through greater certainty is her objective, Mrs May is as much use as a fart in a lift – to quote Judge Rinder; another openly gay magistrate.

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/669168817025753089

What today’s ruling means is that Brexit is still on track, but the hard edged details and timing set out by the government have just become a hell of a lot more complicated. We’re likely as not going to miss the end of March deadline as all of this has to be run past the Commons and the Lords. Realistically, they are not going to overturn the referendum decision – they are aware they have seats to keep, but they might have the power to water down the suicide mission of the Brexiteer cabinet’s Hard Brexit. It remains to be seen, however, that this parliamentary debate will be binding upon the government, as that was not made clear in the High Court’s ruling.

Britain’s media is again making the deliberate mistake of presenting this developing fiasco as a matter for the UK to decide. This is very much a European issue as well, and this legal decision – which is already being treated as yet another delay in Brussels – is only going to put noses in the EU out further than they have already been. While a German economic forum has advised Chancellor Merkel that it would be advantageous to soften or even reverse Britain’s exit from the EU, such an outcome is unimaginable considering the momentum of the British right and the anti-British mood everywhere else in the European Parliament.

After today's judgement I'm really beginning to question the independence of our judiciary.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 3, 2016

Currency markets responded favourably to the ruling, with the pound recovering a single percentile against the euro and the dollar. This only betrays a typical false optimism in the global markets. Traders are looking for good news, and the merest hint that the UK might be forced to stay in the EU provided that for them. What they are about to realise is that, with the British government launching a 7 December appeal, in directing this back to Westminster the now infamous High Court trio have done nothing but grant a temporary stay of execution – prolonging the suffering of the floundering British economy.

Brexit Appeal: Parliament has final say in triggering Article 50