Brexit legal challenge: What does it mean? Will the UK still leave the EU? All your questions answered

The High Court has ruled that parliament, not the Prime Minister, must trigger Article 50, but it raises as many questions as it answers

Thursday 03 November 2016 11:18

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High court rules Brexit needs Parliamentary approval

Could Brexit be stopped?

Probably not, but it could certainly be delayed. According to the Lord Chief Justice, the Prime Minister cannot trigger Article 50 herself, but can only be done with parliamentary approval.

A huge majority of MPs in parliament are opposed to Brexit, but going rejecting the vote of the people in a referendum would be extraordinary, not least for the scores of Labour MPs whose constituents voted to leave.

If Theresa May would like a parliament to trigger Article 50 with a clear conscience, she may decide to call a general election.

How have the markets reacted?

The pound was up by one per cent against the dollar the second the judgement was revealed. Parliamentary approval of Article 50 increases the likelihood of a so called ‘soft’ Brexit.

Will it be challenged?

Yes. The government has already indicated it will appeal the judgement. Don’t expect it to end anywhere other than the Supreme Court.

Brexit Concerns

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1/26Brexit Concerns

Brexit Concerns

Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs

Brexit will put British patients at the “back of the queue” for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned – forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA – because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice.

Getty Images

Brexit Concerns

London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks

One of Germany’s top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as “gateway to Europe” for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the Bundesbank—Germany’s central bank—told a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were “equivalent” between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still “miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market”, the BBC reports.

Jason Hawkes

Brexit Concerns

Exodus

The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union

Shutterstock

Brexit Concerns

Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer

Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEO’s performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterling’s fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors.

Rex

Brexit Concerns

Theresa May: UK to leave single market

Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all".

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Brexit Concerns

Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court

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Brexit Concerns

Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit

PA wire

Brexit Concerns

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit

PA wire

Brexit Concerns

Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais

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Brexit Concerns

Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp

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Brexit Concerns

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today

EPA

Brexit Concerns

Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain

Reuters

Brexit Concerns

Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry

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Brexit Concerns

Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote

PA

Brexit Concerns

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging

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Brexit Concerns

Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities

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Brexit Concerns

A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses

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Brexit Concerns

Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes

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Brexit Concerns

A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU

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Brexit Concerns

Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum

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Brexit Concerns

Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU

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Brexit Concerns

NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit

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Brexit Concerns

The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future

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Brexit Concerns

A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain

Reuters

Brexit Concerns

The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions

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Brexit Concerns

The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market

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Will MPs now be involved?

Yes, but it is still not clear whether a bill now required to pass through both houses in order for Article 50 to be triggered. It is also unclear what parliament could formally mandate the UK's Brexit negotiators to seek. Once Article 50 is triggered, it is still triggered.

What about when the Article 50 process ends?

The Prime Minister has already conceded there will be a vote on the deal at the end of the negotiating period. But that vote would only involve accepting the deal offered by the EU or leaving on WTO terms, not staying or leaving altogether

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