Despite all the sound and fury, it is STILL a fact that only the Crown negotiates international treaties. Only the Crown controls the treaty ratification process. Only the Crown may revoke or extend mechanisms in international law.
And is also STILL a fact that Parliament has ‘sovereignty’ over domestic law ONLY. As always: this ENTIRE procedure is A TREATY RATIFICATION PROCESS. An exclusive Crown power every step of the way.
Not ONE single amendment that Bercow will allow during this ENTIRE process will be binding on the government. They are nothing more than the constitutional equivalent of Parliament’s opinion. It doesn’t matter how many votes and how many majorities those votes get, the Crown will not abdicate its prerogatives to do with treaty making and international law.
Which also include, for the avoidance of any doubt, the ability to unilaterally take the country into war, or to declare war; and which powers will certainly not be being handed over to upstart, 5 year term ‘MPs’, who have proven just how easily they can be so influenced by hostile foreign powers to work against the Crown’s best interests.
Under the Constitutional Governance and Reform Act 2010, s.20 – May can simply keep laying before them once they’ve had their little anti-democratic outburst. And if they refuse it again, she can lay it again every 21 days until she then has two further choices that are hers exclusively under residual prerogative powers:
1. Push it through under CRGA 2010, s20(8) once she has set out why it should be ratified to Parliament. And then she may simply just pass it into law under those powers; or
2. She simply sits on her hands and does nothing until default day when EU law itself via the Article 50 mechanism will mean we leave the EU treaties without a deal.
These are the only two legal outcomes.
Parliament accepts the deal, or it doesn’t. But she can still push it through. Or Article 50 will default it, anyway. And given that May knows that:
1. will almost certainly lead to an immediate no confidence vote and an ensuring general election, the most rational and logical recourse for her to take is:
2. And, given they’ve already signed TWO Acts that accept no deal is the default of not accepting her deal, let it be parliament’s decision after all.
Stock up your tissues, remoaners. Reality is coming.
Tick tock.