Chapter 1: Introduction
1.On 23 June 2016, the people of the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. To keep its commitment to implement the referendum result, the UK Government must now negotiate a new relationship with Europe and formally withdraw from the EU. This will result in the most significant changes to the UK’s constitution in a generation.
2.Constitutional change of such magnitude must be approached carefully and scrutinised appropriately, with the roles and responsibilities of both Government and Parliament set out clearly in advance.
3.In this report we consider in particular the roles that Government and Parliament should play in the triggering of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union—the legal mechanism by which the UK will leave the EU. To aid our deliberations, we held a private seminar in July 2016. We were joined at that seminar by:
- Dominic Grieve QC MP, former Attorney General
- Lord Hope of Craighead, former Deputy President of the Supreme Court
- Lord Lisvane, former Clerk of the House of Commons
- Lord Mackay of Clashfern, former Lord Chancellor
- Dr Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the UCL Constitution Unit
- Jack Straw, former Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, Leader of the House of Commons and Foreign Secretary
4.The seminar was held under the Chatham House Rule. Material from it is cited and quoted in this report but is not attributed to any particular participant. We are grateful to all those participating in the seminar for taking the time to help us in our work.