Brexit: Petition to Revoke Article 50 Notification Debate

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Department: Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit: Petition to Revoke Article 50 Notification

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall Excerpts
Tuesday 26th March 2019

(5 years, 7 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
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As I said earlier in response to the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, in this country we do not have government by online poll; we have government by the ballot box and by this Parliament, and that is what we will be following.

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall Portrait Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
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My Lords, does the Minister agree that in seeking to make a party-political point earlier he rather undermined the force of his argument? It might be thought by a number of people in this House and elsewhere that had the Labour Government at the time taken more notice of what was brought to their attention by that march, very bad consequences might have been avoided, and that might be true in this case as well, might it not?

Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
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I was merely making the point that there have been large expressions of public opinion—demonstrations, internet polls and so on—during previous Governments. At the end of the day, we do not have government by internet opinion poll; we have government by participatory democracy, by the ballot box and by this Parliament.