1/ The EU Withdrawal Act, passed in June, is dangerous because by getting Brexit into statute, leaving is the law and courts are prevented from halting an illegal Brexit. This petition is more important than you think. Keep reading tinyurl.com/accidentalbrex…
2/ EU membership is essentially a treaty arrangement backed by domestic law. The UK law that enables our EU membership is the 1972 European Communities Act. Our treaty status (in/out) should align with UK law, but it's not automatic and UK law will prevail.
3/ Article 50 is the thing everyone talks about but many don't realise it only addresses the treaty obligation. Leaving the EU also requires a change to UK law i.e. repeal of the 1972 Act.
4/ The EU Withdrawal Act will cause the 1972 Act to be repealed on Exit Day, 29 March 2019, thus removing the basis in UK law for continued EU membership. Repeal of the 1972 Act is not contingent on anything except the arrival of Exit Day.
5/ There are upcoming UK and EU court cases that could rule against the validity or legality of the referendum, May's decision, or our A50 notice, but repeal of the 1972 Act on Exit Day is not contingent on any of this, so we will still leave, by law. It's a time bomb.
6/ Because Brexit is already in law, stopping Brexit is not just about preventing it from happening; it requires a change to UK law. The time bomb can only be disarmed by repealing (or drastically amending) the Withdrawal Act. Only Parliament can do that.
7/ So, by UK law we're leaving. If May's deal isn't agreed we crash out. That makes no-deal the default outcome on Exit Day. Will court rulings or other findings continue to undermine the mandate to leave? Probably. But what will our paralysed Parliament do in the heat of moment?
8/ Thus this petition. Accidental Brexit is when we leave by law in spite of a flawed mandate, discredited by the courts or law enforcement. Brexit should have never become UK law while its terms were unknown and its basis in dispute.
9/ Repeal of the Withdrawal Act would 1) allow the remaining months to 29 March unfold without the weight of a looming no-deal default, and 2) allow a court ruling on the illegality of our A50 notice to halt Brexit.
10/ Only Parliament can repeal the EU Withdrawal Act. Encourage them to do so by signing this petition. tinyurl.com/accidentalbrex…
