Nowadays we using rather boring numbers - the current parliament is popularly known as the "2015 Parliament" or more correctly "the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"
But perhaps it needs its own name - for it will go down in history. I suggest -
"The Parliament of Lemmings"
It was this Parliament which passed the European Union Referendum Act 2015 - which set in motion a referendum, which had none of the safeguards that most countries regard as normal - such as thresholds for participation and margins of victory. {Even in Britain we've done that in the past - for example, the Scotland Act 1978 which required that the approval at the referendum be by 40% of Scotland's total registered electorate, rather than by a simple majority.}
When the ancient doctrine of "Parliamentary Sovereignty" was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union - Parliament just rolled over and gave the Prime Minister a blank cheque to trigger Article 50, and all attempts to amend the European Union (Notice of Withdrawal) Bill - (now Act) to secure some scrutiny were rejected.
{I guess a modern variation of the 'self-denying ordinance'}
During the debates a theme was frequently repeated - leaving the EU is going to be bad for the UK, but we are obliged to support this bill. Edmund Burke is well and truly buried! Our "representatives" have taken neither his nor Churchill's views on the duties that MPs owe to their constituents.
Now we have a White Paper on the "Great Repeal Bill". It recognises that there is a mountain of legislation needed to give effect to withdrawal from the EU - and because of the pressures of time, delegated legislated - with limited parliamentary scrutiny - will be used. The Executive has been struggling to get get sufficient expertise to assist it with withdrawal - but it has tried to arm itself - at great expense to taxpayers - by seeking to recruit the needed experts and civil servants. Yet do we hear anything about Parliament being properly equipped for the task ahead?
As the Opposition have pointed out the proposed bill gives sweeping powers to the executive to change regulations. "Sweeping, because it proposes a power to use a delegated legislation to correct and thus change primary legislation, and also devolved legislation," Keir Starmer told MPs. “Sweeping because of the sheer scale of the exercise.” Starmer added: “In those circumstances one might expect some pretty rigorous safeguards to the use of these sweeping powers, but none are found in the white paper.”
Truly, this Parliament deserves the name "The Parliament of Lemmings" - Most know that quitting the EU will do irreparable harm to the UK, its' interests and its people - yet headlong they charge towards the cliff.
