Delaying Brexit By Not Invoking Article 50

The next battleground in the British vote to leave the EU could very well be Parliament – this referendum is not legally binding in any way. I do not believe that Cameron invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty before he “resigned” and that is the specific act that triggers the negotiations about leaving. It is certainly possible, especially when you see the disaster for the British Pound and stock market, that he could put the question before Parliament for a vote and hope to hold a majority there. Cameron has insisted he would trigger Article 50 immediately after the vote but I have not read anywhere that he has actually done that at this point. And it could be that separation talks could begin informally without Article 50 being invoked. As the disaster that the exit vote has created for the British economy and the future of the UK, it is possible that the cries for delaying the actual invocation of Article 50 will grow. Cameron, despite what he has said, could then take the case to Parliament, ignoring the will of the people. But he’s not running again so that may not be a problem for him. Or he could just hold off on invoking Article 50 and let the new PM take that specific act. In that case, the election of the new PM would start this battle all over again. Admittedly, both of these look like long-shots right now. But you do have to wonder, when Britons see how much they have lost in just this one day, how many of them would like to take a breath and reconsider.

Update: it is still unclear whether Cameron has invoked Article 50 yet, but Corbyn says he should do it immediately.

Update #2: A BBC report says the Cameron specifically said he would NOT invoke Article 50 in his resignation speech. I’m guessing he means that he will leave it to his successor. Jean-Claude Junker, President of the European Commission tells UK to essentially get on with leaving.

Update #3: Is Gibraltar going too? Spain calls for “joint control” of the Rock.