Maajid Nawaz Explains Why Democracy Will Not Be Broken If Brexit Is Cancelled
12 January 2019, 14:41
At a time of political uncertainty, Maajid Nawaz takes a moment to remind Brexiters that revoking Article 50 would not be undemocratic.
Speaking on his LBC show, Maajid said: "It's not the end of democracy whether we remain or Brexit.
"It's simply not, and I'll tell you why it's illegitimate for you to riot and use violence.
"The reason democracy hasn't ended is because we live not in a direct democracy.
"The referendum was never legally binding and so democracy hasn't died.
"We live in a representative democracy in which Parliament is sovereign, not referenda."
"And therefore if parliament decides not to carry out out the will of the 4% extra people that want to Brexit it won't be the end of democracy because it was Parliament itself that decided that the referendum wasn't binding in the first place.
"Now morally I'm with you Brexiters.
"Morally you should get your way.
"Morally 52% of you wanted Brexit but practically, because of course as adults we all realise sometimes that what's right isn't the same thing as what's possible, practically parliament may in the end decide there's no clear way through this mess because a mess it surely is."
