Sovereignty

Sovereignty

The Lords have voted for the rights of ordinary people in Britain, voting for decency and fair play - something that our own elected MPs have signally failed to do. I trust that they will also vote for democratic oversight of Brexit negotiations.

Members of both Houses of the British Parliament, as the representatives of the British people and guardians of our best interest, should have oversight of the Brexit process and a meaningful choice presented to them - yet Mrs May’s avowed strategy does not respect this.

Her plan to present a final deal to Parliament as a “take it or leave it” choice – and with “leave it” meaning exit without any agreement at all – is a repudiation of Parliamentary democracy. She says she is bowing to “the will of the people”. Yet her goals are hers not ours. One third of the electorate voted Leave, one third Remain. That is all - no one has asked us what sort of deal we want.

It is even more chilling that, in pursuit of a Mrs May's hard-and-fast Brexit, members of her party have attempted intimidation, with Dominic Raab explicitly voicing otherwise veiled threats made against the Lords, hinting at abolition if the Upper House does any more than act as a rubber-stamp for legislation passed in the Commons. It is heartening to see that the Lords refuse to be bullied in this way. The Brexiteers' abuse of power is seen also in the threat of possible deportation which is hanging over the EU citizens currently resident in the UK, a threat intended to be used as a bargaining counter.

Mrs May is rushing towards a hard Brexit, attempting to complete it before she and the Conservative party go to the country in 2020, when they will be saddled with a foundering economy, with the NHS and social services in crisis, with rising inequality - and cut-throat capitalism their suggested solution.

The Brexit deal will affect each one of us profoundly for the rest of our lives. What an irony that our best chance for having a voice is given by Parliament's unelected chamber.