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Rejoin the EU: a constitutional case

06 October 2024 / David Wolchover
Issue: 8088 / Categories: Opinion , EU , Constitutional law , Brexit
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Keir Starmer says the UK won’t rejoin the EU in his lifetime. David Wolchover looks back at the withdrawal process & re-examines the legality of Brexit

Suddenly, on the very eve of the general election, Labour dropped its strategy of silence on rejoining the EU, with Sir Keir Starmer KC coming out to declare it would never happen in his lifetime.

In fact, this strategy reflected no departure from his long-adopted stance. As shadow secretary for exiting the EU, he became an accessory to Brexit by latching on to the faux democratic imperative of the 2016 referendum. Yet, as a distinguished silk, he could hardly have been unaware of substantial articles in the legal press explaining the compelling constitutional reason why it should have been halted. Instead, he was politically compelled to align with the facile ‘will of the people’ slogan.

As prime minister, he should take stock. The issue is bigger than his ego. Extraordinary as it may seem, Theresa May’s activation of Art 50 of the

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