We have had that quote umpteen times in your Lordships’ House. I will deal with it, but many people said many things many years ago which are not necessarily the principal subject of discussion today.
Given that a majority of people, including a very clear majority of Conservative voters, want a vote on the deal, how can anybody possibly oppose it? At Second Reading, no fewer than seven arguments were advanced against it. The first was that referenda are anathema to a parliamentary system of democracy. This view was forcefully set out by, for example, the noble Lord, Lord Higgins, and the noble Lord, Lord Patten of Barnes, who I am very pleased to see in his place, who called referenda,
“a sin against parliamentary democracy”.—[Official Report, 30/1/18; col. 1475.]
I understand that strength of feeling, but the question I must pose to them and to others, on all Benches, who could well vote to oppose a Brexit deal, is this: do you really believe that a House of Commons vote against a Brexit agreement and in favour of remaining in the EU, with no recourse to the people, would be politically sustainable? If not, what is more important: the “sin” of a referendum or the long-term impoverishment of the country? Many noble Lords might find that an unpalatable choice, but I am afraid it is the hard reality.
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Secondly, it was argued that you cannot rerun the 2016 referendum because the people have already spoken—the argument made by the noble Viscount, Lord Ridley. I completely agree, but what is proposed is very far from being a rerun: it is the first chance for the public to vote on the reality of Brexit. I have in my mind the “maiden aunt” analogy of the noble Lord, Lord Lisvane. Another analogy is that of the prospective house purchaser who makes an offer after visiting an apparently ideal house, only to find when he gets the survey back that it has subsidence, a leaking roof and a garden beset by Japanese knotweed. Whatever analogy one uses, the distinction between an initial and a final decision is clear and well understood.
The third argument was that there would not be time for a referendum before 29 March next year, because the negotiations will drag on and any deal would be at the last minute. This is, I think, a valid
concern, but one that is addressed in our amendment. Any referendum campaign is likely to need to run beyond 29 March next year, and that is why we propose that, if a referendum were voted for, the Government would need to seek approval to extend the Article 50 period for it to be held. We have every reason to believe that such a request would be granted.
Fourthly, it was suggested that it would be difficult to frame the referendum question. I cannot see why it is any more difficult to draft a referendum question than it is to draft a Motion in Parliament on whether to accept a negotiated Brexit deal, or no deal if that is the outcome, or to remain members of the EU. Indeed, Amendments 226 and 357 suggest how the ballot paper question might be phrased.
Fifthly, it was suggested that having a further referendum would be inconclusive and that there would be calls from the losing side for another referendum at a future point to reverse the result of this referendum. While this is a passable debating society point, it does not stand critical scrutiny. At the end of the current Brexit negotiations, a decision must be taken. The only question is by whom.
Sixthly, it was argued, most notably by the noble Lord, Lord Hague of Richmond, that a referendum would,
“plunge the country into a long and bitter dispute and division greater than … we have seen so far”.—[Official Report, 31/1/18; col. 1595.]
I am not by nature a fomenter of division and dispute, but division and dispute is the situation in which the country already finds itself. If noble Lords speak to young people in this country, to those who are married to or who simply know EU nationals, and to those who fear that they might lose their job as a result of Brexit, they will find a strength of feeling that is not going to dissipate any time soon if Brexit proceeds.
Once the conclusive decision is taken on Brexit, we all have a responsibility to work to heal the wounds of a bitterly divided society. But those wounds will not heal simply by accepting any Brexit deal, however damaging. Finally, it is argued that this is not the right piece of legislation into which to be inserting such a provision and that we should keep our powder dry until the withdrawal Bill appears in the autumn or at the end of the year.