Can Brexit still be stopped?

The Supreme Court has ruled that the UK government cannot trigger article 50 to leave the EU without an act of Parliament (i.e. a vote on a bill).
So what does that mean? Could Brexit still be stopped?
Well unfortunately it seems very unlikely:
a) the Tories have a working majority in the House of Commons (and they will all or nearly all vote to trigger article 50)
b) there is virtually no opposition.

MPs generally accept the result of the referendum.

The story we are told is: - The people of the UK have spoken and the majority wants to leave the EU. The terms of the exit from the EU will be negotiated by the government. Parliament will then vote and most probably will vote to trigger article 50.

So will this parliamentary vote be irrelevant? 

Well it could lead to some changes in the terms of the deal, with more opposition in the House of Lords, where the Tories don't have a working majority, but ultimately it appears unlikely to block Brexit.

Should Brexit now be considered a fait accompli? 

Well this is where I am struggling. Why shouldn't the "opposition" be opposed to something they don't believe is good for their country?
After all the majority (51.9%) voted to leave in the referendum, but what about the 48.1% who wanted to remain? What about the votes of London? What about the votes of Scotland and of Northern Ireland?
Not to mention the voices of all those people who were not even allowed to vote: anyone below 18 (the generation that will be mostly affected by Brexit) and those who have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years.
Let's not forget that this referendum should never have happened in the first place.
The leave campaign was shocking and many voters were misled to vote leave on the basis of falsehoods (or "alternative facts", as they are now being called in the US). One of these lies was the claim that the EU was costing the UK £350 million a week and that this money could be used to fund the NHS. Of course, many still believe that it is a good idea to leave the EU, but many others strongly oppose this view.

In her Brexit speech of January 17th, Theresa May said: "after all the division and discord, the country is coming together. The referendum was divisive at times. And those divisions have taken time to heal."
I don't believe that the country is coming together. From what I hear and read in the media and social media, the population of the UK is still very divided.
I see many other contradictions and debatable items in Theresa May's speech.
She said that people "voted to leave the European Union and embrace the world". Really?
"June the 23rd was not the moment Britain chose to step back from the world. It was the moment we chose to build a truly Global Britain". I have very strong doubts about that. Surely you can be part of the European Union and be global at the same time. In fact, how can you leave the European Union and still be global?
She also said "You will still be welcome in this country as we hope our citizens will be welcome in yours." That's not the same message that transpires from "controlling immigration from the EU".
Leaving aside all the economic and judicial benefits (including workers' rights) of being in the EU (and consequently in the single market and in the customs union), I believe that the freedom of movement of people is a huge achievement. I consider myself extremely lucky, because I am part of the Erasmus generation. I know the importance of freedom of movement and I and many of my European friends have benefited greatly from this. I was able to live, study and work in four EU countries, one of which is (or was) the UK.
So I am very disappointed to see that the Labour party is simply giving up.
As awful as having Trump as President may be (and I know that four years is plenty of time to disrupt a country, destroy human rights and relations with the rest of the world), in four years' time there will be another election and hopefully by then there will be more suitable candidates.
But if the UK leaves the EU, the single market, the customs union... it will be permanent.
So maybe the vote of the UK Parliament will be irrelevant, but at least the politicians that oppose Brexit could make their voices heard and, more importantly, should make the voices of the people they represent heard.

Brexit means more than Brexit

Following the initial frenzy of activity in the aftermath of the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016, there has been very little information about what Brexit actually means. That was until yesterday, 17 January 2017, when Theresa May laid out her plans for Brexit. And yes it will be a very hard Brexit.

The key points of her speech can be summarised as

1) Not only will the UK (or what's left of it) leave the EU, but it will also leave the single market.

2) The UK will also (partially?) leave the customs union.

3) The UK wants to control immigration from Europe.

4) The UK will withdraw from the European Court of Justice.

5) To the other members of the EU: "You'd better not punish us in the negotiations or else it will hurt you. But let's remain friends, yeah?"- if that's not an open threat, then what is?

6) The UK parliament will get to vote on the EU deal, but apparently whatever happens Britain is leaving the EU.

The European view can be summed up as: "At least now we know what you really want. Good luck to you, but we'll be stronger than ever".

The general consensus in Europe is that it will be Britain who will be worse off, not the EU. 

The Daily Mail called her the "new iron lady" on its front page today. How ironic that in that same venue (Lancaster House) 29 years ago Margaret Thatcher, the iron lady, gave a speech welcoming the creation of the single market. Now Theresa May is set to wipe it all away.


What does it all mean?

Single market: the single or internal market is an area in which goods, services, capital and people can move freely.

Customs union: there are no tariffs imposed on goods when they cross borders between member states. Also, EU members apply the same tariffs to goods from outside the EU and are not allowed to negotiate their own trade deals with third countries. 

It is possible to be a member of just the single market but not the customs union (Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein). It is also possible to be a member of just the customs union but not the single market (Turkey, Andorra or the Isle of Man). 

European Court of Justice: the ECJ is based in Luxembourg and interprets EU law. It makes sure that EU law is applied in the same way in all EU countries. It can also be used by individuals, companies or organisations to take action against an EU institution if they feel it has infringed their rights. The ECJ does not create EU law. 

Back to Brexit

One week ago...

David Cameron was still the UK Prime Minister.
Theresa May was still the Home Secretary and one of two contestants in the Conservative leadership race.
Boris Johnson had disappeared into oblivion.

Five days ago...

David Cameron shared a few jokes with his colleagues at his last Prime Minister's Questions before moving out of Downing Street with his family.
Theresa May paid a visit to the Queen and became the new Prime Minister.
Boris Johnson popped into number 10 and was made Foreign Secretary.  

The reaction to the news of Boris Johnson's appointment was shock, disbelief, bemusement, amusement and apprehension. The sign on the railings outside Boris' home in London "SORRY WORLD" summarises all of these feelings.
On his first day as Foreign Secretary, Boris was challenged with the difficult task of locating his car, while trying to avoid questions from journalists.

While the world focussed on the alarming news of the promotion of the former Mayor of London to the third-most powerful position in UK politics after Prime Minister and Chancellor, Theresa May made other controversial decisions.

David Davis was made Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

Liam Fox (who resigned in 2011 from David Cameron's government after he "mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred") was made Secretary of State for International Trade.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change was abolished. 

What about Brexit?

Although Theresa May was officially on the Remain side, she insists that "Brexit means Brexit" and that there will be no second referendum on the EU. She has also said she will not trigger Article 50 until the UK's negotiating position has been defined.

Meanwhile, David Davis, the minister in charge of Brexit, has recently said that the UK can formally trigger its departure from the EU by 2017.

What about Scotland?
Scotland wants to remain in the EU.
Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, says a second referendum on Scottish independence from the UK is being considered.
Theresa May is against this idea.

The mess continues...

There is a petition to have the pudding Eton Mess renamed as Brexit!

Eton Mess is a traditional British dessert made with strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream. 

Eton is an exclusive school for boys in England. It's called a public school, but it's actually private and very expensive. Both David Cameron and Boris Johnson were educated at Eton. 
 

Reactions to Brexit: mixed views from Berlin

In the aftermath of Brexit I have witnessed three main types of reaction amongst Germans and other Europeans living here in the German capital.

1) Sadness: We like the UK and we don't want you to leave the EU. We believe in the dream of a united Europe. Please don't go!

2) Schadenfreude (a German word by the way): Ha ha... look what those fools have done. They deserve it: they have always caused problems in the EU. Let them leave if that's what they want. We are better off without them.

3) Enthusiasm: if they can do it, we can do it too. Let's leave the EU! Power to the people! We don't want those technocrats and bureaucrats dictating the shape and size of our sausages! Long live the Currywurst! (I just made that up, but I bet someone out there really thinks that).

However, there is one sentiment that unites everyone across Britain and the EU: Disbelief. How can UK politicians be so clueless and incompetent?
They campaigned for months about leaving the EU and now that the UK has voted in favour of leaving the EU, they don't have a clue about what to do next.

My life in the EU

Yesterday I was shocked, sad and angry. Today I am still angry with the people that have voted to leave, but I am mostly sad. I am sad for the 48% of the British population that wanted to remain and I am especially sad for the young people that could not even vote and that will never experience life in the EU.
I was born in the UK and I grew up in Italy in a British/Italian family. I spent most of my summers as a child in the UK.

I studied at a British university and most of my friends were undergraduates, Erasmus* students, PhD students and postdocs from the EU. 

I studied at a French university for a year, as an Erasmus student from a British university, and met lots of lovely people from the EU, including the UK. In France I also met my German husband, by the way.

When I finished my degree I moved to Germany, where I worked and spent my free time with lots of Brits living and working in Germany.

I then moved to London, where I studied and worked with young people from the EU that were living, studying and/or working in the UK.

Now I live in Berlin, which is also the home of thousands of Brits.

My life would not have been the same without the EU. I would not have met most of my friends. I would not have met my husband and I would not have a son that can speak three languages.

I am sorry for the young generation living in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland may choose a different path) that will not be able to have the same wonderful experiences. They will never know what it meant to be part of the European Union.

*The Erasmus Programme is an EU exchange student programme that has been in existence since the late 1980s. Its purpose is to provide foreign exchange options for students from within the European Union and it involves many of the best universities and seats of learning on the continent.