UK Supreme Court Rules Parliament Has To Vote On Brexit

Exiting the European Union isn’t as cut and dry as many Brits may think, with the U.K. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday (Jan. 24) that Parliament has to vote on whether or not the U.K. government can begin the Brexit process.

According to a report, the ruling means Prime Minister Theresa May can’t start exit talks with the EU until the MPs and their peers provide their support. The report noted that that backing is expected to happen before the March 31 deadline to exit the EU. The Supreme Court also ruled Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies don’t get a say in the move. Sources told the BBC a bill to get the formal nod to exit the EU is being crafted and will be introduced Thursday of this week.

In the ruling, Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger said: “By a majority of eight to three, the Supreme Court today rules that the government cannot trigger Article 50 without an act of Parliament authorizing it to do so. Withdrawal effects a fundamental change by cutting off the source of EU law, as well as changing legal rights. The U.K.’s constitutional arrangements require such changes to be clearly authorized by Parliament.” The court also unanimously rejected arguments that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly should be allowed to vote before the exit process kicks off, with Lord Neuberger saying: “Relations with the EU are a matter for the U.K. government.”

Ever since the historic vote to exit the EU, economists across the country have been warning the vote could spark a recession. More recently, Morgan Stanley economists Melanie Baker and Jacob Nell, both of whom warned of a Brexit-prompted recession and a slowdown in the U.K. economy that would be long-lasting, are now eating their words after their assessment didn’t prove true. According to a report by Business Insider, the Morgan Stanley economists admitted in a report that their initial assessment of the impact of Brexit was “too pessimistic.”