Repeal now, pay later

May is inviting MPs to trust her on Brexit. They shouldn’t

Jolyon Maugham

Theresa May’s proposed Great Repeal Act moves the Brexit debate on, but only on how Brexit will occur. The what—the shape of our future relations with Europe, that is, the question glossed over by May’s “Brexit means Brexit” soundbite—remains unanswered.

From one point of view, repeal legislation merely advances to today a step that would otherwise be taken tomorrow. The European Communities Act 1972—which translates into our domestic law the rights and responsibilities derived from European Union membership—would need repealing anyway. And the mooted Act won’t take effect until we leave. It does nothing now.

All of this is right, and yet it misses the import of May’s move. Hopes for our remaining in the EU rest, as they have done since the referendum, on the sequencing of events. Voters, when they entered the booth on 23rd June, priced up the present resentments of staying against the discounted future costs of leaving. The passing of time could cause them to reassess the balance, to reflect on the reality of life outside the EU. If investment stalled, jobs were lost, tax revenues hit, and the promised NHS savings reversed, public opinion could turn. Those who won the fight to “Leave” know it. Hence their urgency. We must leave now, they say, damning the consequences of acting precipitately.