I’m sure many people will have been watching with interest the Supreme Court case in which the Government is challenging last month’s High Court ruling which insisted that Parliament must vote on invoking Article 50. It follows a campaign led by Investment Manager Gina Miller who is fighting against the legitimacy of Britain leaving the European Union.
The Attorney General Jeremy Wright has argued that the result of the referendum which was ordered by Parliament, had the clear expectation that the Government would act on the outcome. However those who are anti-Brexit insist that the referendum was simply advisory. The latter seems a strange argument to make, especially as the results of previous referendums have been respected without the need to re-visit, debate (again) and vote on the ‘advice’ of the public. If the courts do choose to impose a legislative Act onto Parliament (which Parliament did not choose to impose itself) this completely undermines Parliamentary sovereignty.
Thankfully, regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict, the Government will be respecting the majority of the British people by delivering Brexit. Should the courts impose an Act for Parliament to pass we already know the SNP (who at least can claim in Scotland there was a majority for Remain) and the Liberal Democrats (perhaps time to drop the Democrats) have said they will oppose Brexit. But Labour are in a very difficult position; whilst they are a Pro-European Party (who wish to block Brexit), the majority of their constituencies voted firmly for Brexit. We tested them this week but thankfully a big majority of MPs voted to support the Prime Minister’s timetable for Brexit.
Elsewhere, following on from my article last week we have had further progress towards establishing a Swindon Library Trust. I arranged a meeting with the Minister responsible for Libraries on Monday, which I attended with SBC Cabinet Member Mary Martin despite the short notice! Credit where it is due, Mary was very impressive and helped us make the most of this opportunity. The Minister spoke of his support for setting up a Library Trust and agreed to provide financial assistance to help with the set-up. This was overwhelmingly supported at the SBC Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and provides a real opportunity to safeguard our library network. As we have seen in other areas a Libraries Trust will be able to encourage philanthropy and secure grants in order to deliver a creative and viable library service for our local communities. I will continue to do all I can to support our vital libraries.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to all of the generous Swindon residents who donated toys and books to my Salvation Army Christmas Toy Appeal - the generosity of local residents never ceases to amaze me! We have collected them together today and will be taking them to the Salvation Army over the weekend where they will then be collected by social services. The gifts will then go to vulnerable youngsters over Christmas who often don’t get presents or don’t have a family to spend Christmas with. Thank you again to everybody who donated, your kindness is greatly appreciated and I am sure it will make a difference to somebody’s life this Christmas.
