The Supreme Court decided that an Act of Parliament is required to invoke Article 50. I had argued that the Government had the power to begin the withdrawal process on its own, I fully accept the Court’s decision. No-one is above the law and respect for the judiciary is one of cornerstones of our free society. So I look forward to five full days of debate on the subject which is more than many bills receive on the floor of the House, let alone for a bill which is so short and is about respecting the wishes of over 17 million people after a long campaign.
I will of course take the opportunity to cast my vote in favour of invoking article 50. I believe that it would be democratically impossible to ignore the wishes of the electorate. The British people voted by an overwhelming majority in June last year to leave the EU and more people voted in the referendum than at any general election since 1992. No Prime Minister or Government in British history has ever received as large a mandate. Parliament also voted by a majority of 373 to invoke Article 50 by March this year.
The Prime Minister has published a plan for leaving the EU. A total of 12 key objectives have been released that make the Government's negotiating aims clear. A white paper will be published as expeditiously as possible. I will certainly be working on behalf of constituents to push the Government to get Britain the best deal possible.