Another Brexit Referendum?
The Briefing Room
BBC
4.8 • 731 Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2018
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How could a new referendum on Britain's relationship with Europe work? As pressure mounts on Theresa May to seal an agreement on Brexit, there are growing calls for a further referendum on the issue. From across the political spectrum, MPs, trade unions and campaigners are demanding another vote on the terms of the deal, or lack of one. In the Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch examines the mechanics of this hypothetical proposition. What would the procedure be to trigger another referendum and how would it be organised? And is there enough time? Guests: Chris Morris, BBC Reality Check Alan Renwick, deputy director of the Constitution Unit, University College London Professor Catherine Barnard, Senior Fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe Initiative at King’s College London Professor Matt Qvortrup of Coventry University Katya Adler, BBC Europe Editor
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:03.0 | Welcome to the briefing room with me David O'Ronovich. |
| 0:06.1 | In this virtual space, we'll meet people who know what they're talking about |
| 0:09.6 | and who can give us all the answers to the big questions of the moment. |
| 0:13.6 | And whether we're brilliant or execrable or could just do a bit better, |
| 0:17.4 | please let us know what you think by writing a review or rating us on iTunes or your |
| 0:21.9 | podcast provider. This week we're asking, is it possible that there could be a further referendum |
| 0:28.0 | on Britain's relationship with the EU? And if so, what would the process be to making it happen? |
| 0:35.0 | And if you enjoy this podcast, you might want to download other editions |
| 0:38.3 | of the briefing room in recent podcasts we've covered student finance, the prospects for a new |
| 0:43.0 | British political party, and what might be at stake in the US midterm elections. Two years ago, |
| 0:51.1 | it all seemed so simple. |
| 1:02.9 | It's a single decision, it's a final decision, and there are only two choices. |
| 1:05.7 | Two years on, it's anything but. |
| 1:10.3 | On June the 23rd, 2016, we voted to leave the European Union, but we didn't yet know at that point |
| 1:13.1 | what the terms of the new relationship would be. Once we know those terms of the new relationship, |
| 1:18.9 | we are surely entitled to think again. And what that means say a growing number of voices |
| 1:24.4 | is a further referendum. Some people don't agree. |
| 1:28.3 | This government will never accept a second referendum. The British people voted to |
| 1:33.3 | leave the European Union and we will be leaving on the 29th of March 2019. |
| 1:38.3 | But what PM say doesn't always go and the idea is in the ether. Here in the briefing room we're not going to discuss whether it's a good idea or a bad one. |
| 1:49.0 | That's not what we do. Instead, we're going to get briefed on the practicalities. |
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