The newly formed political party named as the Change UK, which comprises of 11 members from the former representatives of the Conservative party and the Labour party. They come together in support of a public vote that says that Brexit must remain in the European Union and a referendum is to be held in order to make this possible.
However, a spokesperson, representative of the Change UK party, stated that there isn’t enough time to hold another referendum due to the fact that a minimum of 22 weeks is needed to hold a referendum and Brexit has just over 23 weeks till 31st October, so time seems to have almost run out on them. He also stated that they are in such a situation where Article 50, which states the withdrawal of any member state from the European Union in accordance with their constitutional requirements, is to be revoked and this would mean the entire Brexit process have to be stopped. The party also claims that such a decision will be fair in order to prevent Brexit from going into a ‘National emergency’ state.
According to the Constitutional Unit of the University College London, it takes a minimum of 22 weeks to prepare for a public vote. Of which includes at least 12 weeks to pass the legislation to prepare for a referendum and another 10 weeks to organize the actual voting process which involves a lot of campaigns. Also, the government cannot hold any public vote without the majority support of the Members of Parliament and the folks. And often in these cases, when an introduction of a new principle in the referendum is given, the delay is tended to happen when there will be a lot of disagreement between the MPs regarding the new principles, so a duration of 12 weeks is not going to be enough.
So, how would It work? How could another referendum be put up regarding leaving the European Union again?
According to the Electoral commission, a period of 10-weeks for the campaigns and organization of the voting grounds sounds like a tight spot, as the campaigns need to be given enough time for the information to be sent out to the public, thus gathering voters. And the campaigns to be officialized and selected by the authorities. After these processes are completed, a returning officer is to be appointed to hold the election and then produce the results.
And according to the predictions, the 22-week time would leave the process in the second week of October and leaving only a week before Brexit is tended to happen. This is a very tight spot as the slightest of delay can cause trouble to the voting process. And the point of the whole referendum might get wasted. But reports say that the European Union is in favour of granting further extension to Article 50 of Brexit in case of a referendum to take place.
