Britain may need a second Brexit referendum, says former PM

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LONDON (Reuters) - Former British prime minister David Cameron, who took the decision in 2016 to hold a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union, said another vote may be needed to resolve the Brexit impasse.

... Cameron said a no-deal Brexit would be “a bad outcome” which should not be pursued and said a second referendum remained an option.

“I don’t think you can rule it out because we’re stuck,” said Cameron, who served as Conservative prime minister from 2010 to 2016 and campaigned in the referendum for Britain to remain in the EU.

“I’m not saying one will happen or should happen. I’m just saying that you can’t rule things out right now because you’ve got to find some way of unblocking the blockage,” said Cameron, in his first interview since he resigned the day after Britons voted in the referendum by 52% to 48% to leave the EU ...

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1. No-deal Brexit: Scores of councils say food shortages a risk

Vincent Wood
4 hours ago

Scores of local councils have said a no-deal Brexit could result in food, medicine and fuel shortages in their constituencies – with many stating that crashing out without an agreement could lead to civil unrest and damage to social care.

Official documents from 63 councils uncovered by the People’s Vote campaign have revealed local authorities fear that fundamental services could suffer and others could be cut if the UK crashes out of the EU.

It follows the release of the government’s Operation Yellowhammer planning paper, which warned lorries could face delays of up to two and a half days at Dover, and that protest and public disorder would take up “significant” police resources ...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-no-deal-food-medicine-civil-unrest-social-care-councils-a9104961.html

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2. Number 10 plays down hopes of Brexit breakthrough

Heather Stewart, Daniel Boffey and Lisa O'Carroll
Fri 13 Sep 2019 13.40 EDT Last modified on Fri 13 Sep 2019 18.40 EDT

Downing Street has played down the prospect of an early breakthrough in Brexit talks despite hopes of a compromise on the Irish backstop, as Boris Johnson prepares to meet the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.

There has been a renewed drive in No 10 for an agreement since parliamentarians passed a law aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit on 31 October and twice rejected Johnson’s demand for a snap general election.

However the government has no plans to publish any detailed written proposals as the prime minister seeks to avoid Theresa May’s fate of having her carefully constructed compromise shot down publicly by party colleagues ...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/13/no-10-plays-down-hopes-of-brexit-breakthrough

[Poiuyt]

3. He's right

[sharedvalues]

10. Hes right but he caused this.

Cameron held the referendum because he expected to win and that this would muzzle the far right in his party.

To control the Tories he risked the country.

[Bleacher Creature]

4. Could 2020 be the year two great countries right two major screw ups? NT

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5. Crisis goes beyond Brexit: democracy is at stake

Jonathan Freedland
Fri 13 Sep 2019 13.06 EDT Last modified on Fri 13 Sep 2019 16.55 EDT

... following Wednesday’s ruling by Scotland’s highest civil court that Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament was unlawful, the feeling was unmistakable. It was optimism. Admittedly, it was optimism in its weakest form: not the confident certainty that all would turn out for the best, but rather a fragile flicker of hope that things might not be so bad after all.

Coupled with MPs’ success in both outlawing a no-deal crash-out from the European Union on 31 October and forcing the release of the Yellowhammer papers outlining the government’s own assessment of the calamity such a Brexit would inflict on the country, a hopeful thought took root. Maybe, just maybe, the British constitution was working as the textbooks say it should. Here was an independent judiciary and independent legislature doing their jobs: acting as a restraint on an overmighty executive.

... a sobering lesson from the convulsions of the post-2016 era is that constitutions, written or unwritten, are only as strong as the people charged with enforcing them. The Republicans in the US Congress have failed that test, refusing to do their duty by restraining a president bent on trampling on the constitution. In the last fortnight, Britain’s politicians – or enough of them – have shown their US counterparts how it’s done ...

I wish I could say that. But we need to gird ourselves for a possible reversal of the Scottish decision in the UK supreme court on Tuesday. If, as plenty of legal scholars fear, those judges rule that Johnson’s prorogation, or suspension, of parliament was cynical, unjustified and dishonest but not ultimately illegal, parliament will remain shut ...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/13/brexit-boris-johnson-parliament-written-constitution

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. too bad we no longer have an independent judiciary in the U.S.

A malevolent Moscow Mitch ensured that the top of our judiciary branch is ideologically opposed to most of the citizens and the history of our law. Half of our legislature is held hostage by extremists who will provide no check on our executive branch, and obstruct any attempt to guard elections from hostile, foreign interference.

We're screwed.

[2naSalit]

6. They should have done that as soon as

they realized it was going to ruin them.

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7. +

[Indykatie]

8. I think a New Referendum is The Only Sensible Path Out of The Train Wreck that is Brexit.

Corbyn and Labour didn't have the guts to support the Remain position openly. I really think if Corbyn wasn't viewed as such a scary or bad leader Labour could rout the conservatives. Am I the only one who thinks Corbyn reminds them of Bernie?

[sharedvalues]

9. Brexit is David Cameron's fault

Link to tweet

[roamer65]

11. Should have never had the first referendum.

The UK should have entered ERM2 and ditched the pound for the Euro. The only solution is more Europe.