The Process for Triggering Article 50

Viscount Ridley Excerpts
Tuesday 24th January 2017

(7 years, 3 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Bridges of Headley Portrait Lord Bridges of Headley
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No, my Lords, I dispute that, because I do not think the British people will feel a sense of betrayal, given the approach that the Prime Minister set out in her speech last week.

Viscount Ridley Portrait Viscount Ridley (Con)
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My Lords, does my noble friend welcome the fact that the Supreme Court, while asking Parliament to take the decision to trigger Article 50, also made it very clear that it was not its own job to decide how that Bill should be phrased or how that question should be put to Parliament? Was that not a helpful constitutional clarification?

Lord Bridges of Headley Portrait Lord Bridges of Headley
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It was indeed. There are a number of important constitutional clarifications on that point, and on the Sewel convention. As I have said, our lawyers are studying the judgment in full, and I am sure there will be other issues that noble Lords may wish to raise in due course, once your Lordships too have had the opportunity to read all 96 pages.