Cameron rejects New Brexit Referendum
In a ironic twist of circumstances, David Cameron today rejected calls for a new Brexit referendum. Cameron’s rejection comes despite 4 mio. signatures calling for a new referendum to take place, and without the matter having been formally discussed in cabinet or in the House of Commons.
Ironically, while many UK politicians have critized the EU for being un-democratic, it only takes 1 mio signatures for a citizens’ initiative to be taken up for discussion in the European Commission, while apparently 4 mio signatures is not enough to take something up for discussion in the UK government.
The issue was discussed, however, in a recent debate in the House of Lords, with former Labour MP for Tower Hamlets, Oona King (now Baroness King) calling for a referendum once the result of the British exit negotiations is known, in order for the UK voters to have an actual idea of what exactly they are voting for or against. The suggestion was categorically rejected by several of her fellow peers.
Despite initial doubts in the markets and among commentators about whether the UK would actually leave the EU or not following the referendum, the arrow now seems to point to a definite exit, as several UK politicians, including the two final candidates for the Conservative leadership, Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom, have committed themselves to that outcome.
Cover photo of Baroness King of Bow by Dan McCurry released under an CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
