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Jeremy Corbyn says Theresa May 'cannot hide behind' royal powers for Brexit deal

Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the British Prime Minister cannot 'hide behind' royal prerogative&nbs...
Newstalk
Newstalk

15.16 29 Dec 2016


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Jeremy Corbyn says Theresa May...

Jeremy Corbyn says Theresa May 'cannot hide behind' royal powers for Brexit deal

Newstalk
Newstalk

15.16 29 Dec 2016


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Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the British Prime Minister cannot 'hide behind' royal prerogative when it comes to the UK leaving the European Union.

The UK Labour leader has criticised Theresa May in an interview with The Guardian, saying the British parliament needs to have a vote on the final deal.

He thinks it would be "extraordinary" if the government used the royal prerogative to bypass British MPs while parliaments in other countries got to vote on the package.

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He said: “It [a final Brexit deal] would have to come to parliament. She cannot hide behind Henry VIII and the divine rights of the power of kings on this one.

“The idea that on something as major as this the prime minister would use the royal prerogative to bypass parliament is extraordinary – I don’t know where she’s coming from.”

The British supreme court heard a British government appeal over the Brexit procedure earlier this month, and a verdict is due in January.

The case revolves around Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which starts two years of formal negotiations between London and Brussels about the divorce. The UK's high court ruled that it must be invoked by parliament rather than the government.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph reports that Mrs May is planning to campaign to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) after Brexit is completed, and transfer the rights into British law instead.

Mrs May's predecessor David Cameron had proposed a 'British bill of rights', but according to The Guardian plans are on hold until after Brexit.

The ECHR - governed by the European Court of Human Rights - is separate to the European Union, and aims to secure 'the universal and effective recognition and observance' of human rights in Europe.

The reported plans have led to some criticism, with legal commentator David Allen Green highlighting the importance of the ECHR to the Good Friday Agreement:


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