01 December 2019

The Guardian: Johnson ‘will have to call second referendum if he fails to win majority’

Boris Johnson could be forced into holding a second referendum on Brexit next summer if he fails to win a majority in the House of Commons but remains as prime minister, according to a new report by academics at University College London.

The detailed analysis of how a referendum could be triggered, how long it would take, and how it would work concludes that a second public vote – in which the options would most likely be Johnson’s deal versus remaining in the EU – would be very much on the cards if the Conservatives are denied a majority, or are returned with only a very slender one, on 12 December.

The report – by UCL’s constitution unit in collaboration with research initiative UK in a Changing Europe – is a reminder of the high stakes, and high risk, of the election to Johnson. Although the latest Opinium poll for the Observer gives the Tories a 15-point lead over Labour with less than a fortnight until polling day, the gap has narrowed by four points since a week ago.

The UCL work comes as independent analysis suggests that crashing out of the EU next year would cause the national debt to rise by more than £220bn over the next five years – equivalent to an extra £8,000 of debt per household. The figure, which is more than this year’s government budget for health, social care, schools and local government combined, was contained in research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and highlighted by the Liberal Democrats. 

Under Johnson’s plans, Britain will not extend the transition period with the European Union beyond the end of 2020, even if no trade deal is in place. The Lib Dems said the IFS research showed that, compared to its plan of stopping Brexit, crashing out would make national debt £221bn larger. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Ed Davey said: “If Boris Johnson gets his way and crashes us out of the EU without a deal at the end of 2020, he will create a tidal wave of debt that would jeopardise funding for our schools, hospitals and vital public services.” [...]

Full article on The Guardian

UCL report

© The Guardian