Right to Revoke

The European Union has confirmed that up to the moment of exit from the EU, the UK may unilaterally revoke its notice to leave the EU regardless of what the other states decide or wish. In such a scenario the UK would simply remain a member of the EU as it has to date. The right to unilaterally withdraw the notice to leave must be exercised in good faith.

Alternatively, the UK could agree with the other EU states, as happened when the braided date was postponed to 31 October 2019, to enter some other arrangement involving a further postponement of the exit date.

Practical and Political Issues

In practical political terms, revocation or remaining would require a second referendum unequivocally so deciding. This is not legally necessary because of UK Parliamentary sovereignty. Parliament could, in theory, ignore the 2016 referendum. However, in practical political,  consent by way of a second referendum would be required.

It appears as of  July 2019 that there is no majority in Parliament in favour of a second referendum. The Labour Party has announced that in certain circumstances and subject to conditions it is its policy to have a confirmatory referendum. However, the Labour Party is deeply split and its leadership does not seem to favour a second referendum, in particular on the issue of remaining. It is claimed that the majority of Labour’s electorate favour a second referendum.

Labour indicates that its priority is to get the best Brexit deal for jobs and living standards, to underpin its plans to upgrade the economy and invest in every community and region.