The UK Government’s
proposal to write the date of the UK’s departure from the EU onto the face of
the bill is a powerful symbol of their determination to go ahead with Brexit
without compromise. It’s not much more
than a symbol, though. If there is one
single principle or tenet underlying the UK Constitution, it is that Parliament
has absolute sovereignty vested in it by the monarch, and that anything parliament
can do it can subsequently undo. So,
yes, parliament can declare the date of departure on the face of the bill; but
if it becomes clear that a change is needed, parliament can make that change.
It is a symbol to
which all the Cabinet can sign up, of course - precisely because those who
think it nonsense also know that it can be changed if (or when) reality
requires. And getting the Cabinet to
agree to anything is something of an achievement in itself – the government’s
internal negotiations seem to be more complicated and difficult than those with
the EU27. Unity on anything is a bonus;
in a context where the UK pretends to make offers to the EU and the EU pretends
to take them seriously, symbolism helps to strengthen the perception that the
UK is better than the EU at pretending. Perception can sometimes feel more comfortable than reality.
I can’t help but
think, however, that the amount of time and effort being spent on symbolism to
strengthen the UK’s posture of pretence might have at least some relationship
with the lack of progress on the substance.
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