By Ben Kerrigan-
Voters can overrule any deal made between the UK and the EU, Michael Gove has dramatically claimed .
The environment secretary stated in the Daily Telegraph that if the British people dislike the arrangement, they can change it. He repeated a statement he had made before that ”nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. Everything necessarily includes the consent of the British people on everything , according to Gove’s recent comments.
His comments come after he praised Theresa May’s “tenacity and skill” in securing a last-minute deal to end phase one negotiations on Friday.
Mr Gove’s statement has the potential to lead to confusion because if British voters can overrule agreements made between the UK and The EU, it will undermine the entire essence of the long and difficult negotiations that would have taken place at the end of it.
Gove’s comments raises concerns about the negotiation process between the UK and The EU. His claim that voters can change the final agreement is either deceptive or potentially disruptive to what would have been a very long process of talks.
Gove added that after the two-year transition period, the UK would be able to pass laws with “full freedom to diverge from EU law on the single market and customs union.” However, voters will have the last say on whether the Uk law eventually divorces from EU law, if Gove’s statement is to be taken seriously. This will represent a distortion of common sense, since many voters do not understand the benefits or disadvantages of Britain being under EU law.
Most brexitiers would support the idea of the British courts being independent of the EU Courts since this is consistent with the idea of Brexit.
Gove said the British people would “be in control” to make the government change direction if they were unhappy.
“By the time of the next election, EU law and any new treaty with the EU will cease to have primacy or direct effect in UK law,” said Mr Gove.
“If the British people dislike the arrangement that we have negotiated with the EU, the agreement will allow a future government to diverge.”
His words can be taken to mean that a future government will be able to reverse Brexit if the British people don’t like it. Those words are unconvincing, the sort that make politicians not trusted.