Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Brexit voters who shout down 'Remoaners' don't want a rational debate, experts warn

'An irritating aspect of the current debate is the tendency of Brexiters to accuse those who warn of difficulties of talking Britain down'

Wednesday 02 November 2016 17:15 GMT
Comments
Liam Fox, Boris Johnson and David Davis are all leading Brexiters in the cabinet
Liam Fox, Boris Johnson and David Davis are all leading Brexiters in the cabinet

Brexiters who accuse those who are warning of the difficulties of leaving the EU as “talking Britain down” are making a “pathetic argument”, experts have warned.

A study looking at the legal, constitutional and bureaucratic challenges that are involved in triggering article 50 has highlighted the difficulties Britain is likely to face during the negotiation period.

Professor Anand Menon of King’s College London, who is a director at The UK in a Changing Europe, the authors of the study, said the report will help to identify potential stumbling blocks that are routinely ignored by Brexiters.

“An irritating aspect of the current debate is the tendency of Brexiters to accuse those who warn of difficulties of talking Britain down.

“It’s a good line but a pathetic argument. Since when was rational debate a bad thing? Forewarned, surely, is forearmed, and this report will help identify potential stumbling blocks ahead,” Professor Menon said.

Parliament is likely to have a large of volume of work to identify and transport all relevant EU law after it is repealed and the negotiations are likely to require extensive coordination between new and existing ministries.

Professor Menon also added that Brexit could test Britain’s capacity to its limits and said a lot of uncertainty remains.

“Article 50 negotiations will be tricky and hideously technical but that is the easy bit. When it comes to the crafting of a future relationship, almost everything is up in the air.

“Brexit thus has the potential to test the UK’s constitutional settlement, legal framework, political process and bureaucratic capacities to their limits – and possibly beyond.”

Theresa May has announced she will trigger article 50 by the end of March and Britain will enter a two-year negotiation period with the EU.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in