Brexit News for Friday 4th November

Government loses Article 50 legal case…

In a landmark ruling, Lord Chief Justice Thomas said Mrs May did not have the right to set in motion Article 50, the official start of the two-year European Union divorce proceedings, without consulting Parliament. The decision is a significant setback for the Prime Minister’s Brexit strategy – she revealed at the Conservative Party Conference last month she would trigger Article 50 by the end of March. – Sky News

…but indicates that it will appeal…

David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, insisted the government would appeal the High Court’s ruling that parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving. He told the BBC: “This was the decision for the British people and that decision was taken after a six to one vote in the Commons to give the decision to the British people. So that’s why we’re appealing it” – BBC

Scottish government may challenge Theresa May Article 50 appeal – PoliticsHome
Brexit court ruling challenge a mistake, Carwyn Jones says – BBC

…and stick to the original timetable for triggering Article 50…

Downing Street claim their plans to trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017 haven’t changed despite an embarrassing High Court defeat… “Our plans remain to invoke Article 50 by the end of March,” the PM’s spokesperson told journalists. “We believe the legal timetable should allow for that.” – The Sun

Theresa May rules out general election before 2020 – Politico
May to tell Jean-Claude Juncker Brexit plans not derailed by court – BBC

…but Attorney General Jeremy Wright is now under pressure to quit following the defeat

Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General, was publicly tasked by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, at last month’s Conservative party conference with personally fighting the case. However questions were asked because Mr Wright was not seen at the High Court in London when the ruling was handed down by the Lord Chief Justice. Tory MPs also said he should be replaced with a more experienced lawyer. Mr Wright was only made a QC when he became Attorney General two years ago. – Daily Telegraph

Daniel Hannan MEP: The court ruling requiring a Parliamentary vote on Article 50 is a disgrace

During the referendum campaign, the Government controversially spent £9.3 million on distributing a brochure to every British household making its case for remaining in the EU. That official publication contained a clear statement: “This is your decision. The Government will implement what you decide”… Not a single Stronger In campaigner, as far as I’m aware, took issue with the sentence I have just quoted. Confident that they would win, they were happy to treat the referendum as final and binding. Which is what makes all this pomposity about constitutional propriety so preposterous. Pro-EU campaigners, having won the first round of their legal battle to prevent the Government disengaging without another parliamentary vote, are now claiming that all they want is due process. It’s not their hypocrisy that shocks; it’s their sheer brazenness. – Daniel Hannan MEP for the Daily Telegraph (£)

Jacob Rees-Mogg MP: We will achieve Brexit, even if it takes an election, a purge of the Europhiles or 1,000 new peers to get there

The United Kingdom will leave the European Union and this decision ought not to cause any delay. Nonetheless, the judiciary is causing an unnecessary constitutional clash. One of the advantages of leaving the European Union is that there will no longer be any law superior to an Act of Parliament, which may put the judiciary back into its rightful role. – Jacob Rees-Mogg MP for the Daily Telegraph (£)

Martin Howe QC: A deeply troubling and wrong-headed decision

The judgment argues that… the Crown has no power to withdraw from the EU treaties, because doing so would have the effect of altering domestic law, which only Parliament can do. This argument is illogical and does not hold water. There are many acts which the government can carry out on the international plane under the European treaties which have the effect of altering UK domestic law, and in doing so either confer rights on people or deprive them of rights… So why should it be OK to have “more Europe” through exercise of the prerogative power, but wrong to have “less Europe” as a result of Article 50 being invoked and the direct effect parts of EU law ceasing to apply within the UK? – Martin Howe QC et al for Lawyers for Britain

Nigel Farage MEP: The great Brexit betrayal has begun. But I know the British people won’t let it happen

We are faced with a real problem and increasing frustration out there in the country from a public who want to see the Government getting on with implementing the referendum verdict rather than the establishment watering down Brexit bit by bit. The British people voted to leave the single market, for full border controls and to take back control of things such as our territorial fishing waters. They want and expect to see all of this delivered. – Nigel Farage MEP in the Daily Telegraph (£)

Stephen Booth: What the Article 50 ruling means for the Government’s Brexit plans

It is very hard to believe that a majority of MPs in the House of Commons would actually move to ‘block’ Brexit by preventing the Government triggering Article 50, especially having voted to give the public the opportunity to vote to leave the EU in the referendum… Despite there being a majority of MPs for Remain going into the referendum, as research by political scientist Chris Hanretty has noted, “421 out of 574 English and Welsh constituencies probably voted to Leave.” MPs in both parties and on both sides of the referendum campaign are acutely aware of this. – Stephen Booth for Open Europe

MPs will ‘comfortably’ back Article 50 if parliament gets vote – International Business Times
Full list of Remain MPs who could block a Brexit by voting Article 50 down – International Business Times
Labour MPs who voted Remain represent Leave constituencies. They now face an unpleasant choice – Ellie Mae O’Hagan for The Independent

How the newspapers view the judgment

Where were the self-styled champions of British sovereignty when the Mother of Parliaments was being forcibly sterilised by the European Communities Act and then politically raped by the treaties of Maastricht, Dublin and Lisbon? – Daily Express editorial
This decision is a betrayal of common sense, the people and democracy – Daily Mail editorial
David Cameron’s glib promises about the Government smoothly enacting the referendum verdict have proved worthless – The Sun Says
The arguments for an early general election must look compelling in Downing Street this morning, despite the prime minister’s assurances to the contrary. – Times (£) editorial
These are uncharted waters, and navigating them was always going to entail legal, constitutional, political and bureaucratic compromise – City A.M. Editor’s Notes
Brexiters complain that the will of the people is being subverted. But this is the rule of law; it is how UK democracy works – FT (£) editorial
The Brexit campaigners cry foul but there’s no conspiracy – just majority rule tempered by the rule of law – Guardian editorial

Bank of England stages post-Brexit u-turn as it makes biggest ever hike to growth forecast

The Bank of England has almost doubled its economic growth forecast for 2017 and scrapped its planned interest rate cut, in a dramatic u-turn on its earlier warnings that the economy would suffer a severe post-referendum crunch. The pound spiked against the dollar and euro on Thursday after the Bank predicted Britain’s economy would grow by 1.4pc next year, almost double the 0.8pc it predicted just three months ago. This represents the biggest upgrade the Bank has ever made to its forecasts. – Daily Telegraph

The Bank of England made a mistake. It should have admitted it – Matthew Lynn for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog
Mark Carney changes his tune as consumers dance on – Nils Pratley for The Guardian
Carney is just the man to see Brexit through – Ed Conway for The Times (£)

The new Brexit Select Committee gets down to work

The Brexit select committee met for the first time yesterday, and its newly elected chair, Hilary Benn, has now revealed that MPs will investigate the objectives of the UK in quitting the EU. Benn’s committee, which includes prominent Brexiteers like Michael Gove, will seek to establish what the UK’s goals should be, as well as the opportunity for transitional deals. It will also look at the government’s capacity to meet those objectives. The Brexit committee is now accepting written evidence. – City A.M.

Lord Ashcroft: Donald Trump is like Brexit in three key ways

First, the Trump and Brexit movements have both harnessed a desire for change that goes beyond dry questions of policy… Second, voters are having to decide how much risk they are prepared to take in return for the change they hope for, with consequences that are unknowable… Third, many in the British political and media establishment completely failed to understand that reasonable people might vote for Brexit. There was an assumption in certain circles that anyone wishing to leave the EU must be stupid, ignorant, prejudiced or mad. This only galvanized Leave supporters, reinforcing their perception of an out-of-touch governing élite which looked down on people like them. – Lord Ashcroft for Time magazine

Brexit is nothing like the rise of Donald Trump, whatever he might think

In all of the ways that really matter, the Brexiteer agenda is dramatically at odds with what passes for Trump’s world-view. The Donald wants to walk away from America’s free trade deals; Brexiteers are desperate to sign as many as possible as quickly as possible. Leavers here would love to join Nafta; Trump wants to quit it. Almost all Brexiteers want to use Nato to help protect the West and project UK and US power; Trump sees it as a drain on resources. The utter incompatibility of visions ought to be obvious. Brexit is the politics of hope, of positive change, of radical reform; Trump is the politics of despair, of powerlessness, of retreat. – Allister Heath in the Daily Telegraph

Brexit comment in brief

Taking Brexit lessons to Poland – Daniel Kawczynski MP for Breitbart
With Labour’s leader sidelined, the party’s Brexit spokesman has stepped into the spotlight. – Politico

Brexit news in brief

Britain must leave the EU and avoid getting ‘bogged down’ by Brexit, ex-Cameron aide says – Daily Express
Trading partners want to keep EU deal terms after Brexit – The Times (£)
Desperate German economists call on Angela Merkel to stop Brexit – Daily Express
Former EU Commissioners still enjoying big paydays – EurActiv
Project Fear redux: think-tank claims Brexit threatens supply of new drugs – Reuters
New European newspaper seeks to become multi-platform media brand – The Drum
UK service sector ‘moves up a gear’ – BBC
Trade relationships with the US ripe for the taking post-Brexit – The Guardian
Can UK boost trade with India post-Brexit? – BBC
Sir James Dyson dismisses EU tariff fears of hard Brexit – The Guardian

And finally… Political – not artistic – differences threaten Smiths reunion

A reunion of one of Britain’s most influential bands could have been derailed because of UKIP. The Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr said his former bandmate Morrissey’s pro-Brexit views would be a “drawback” to a lucrative reunion. Marr told Sky News that if reports of Morrissey liking UKIP leader Nigel Farage “a great deal” and saying the Brexit result was “magnificent” are true, the two no longer share the same beliefs. – Politico

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