Article 50

On Thursday 23-Jun-2016 the people of the country that turned out to vote in the EU Referendum said by 52% to 48% that we should leave.

Today [Thursday 3-Nov-2016] the high court will decide whether parliament is to have a say on the UK’s decision to leave European Union. The lord chief justice is to deliver the high court’s momentous decision on whether parliament or the government has the constitutional power to trigger Brexit.

The outcome of the case, which ventures into constitutionally untested ground, will resolve whether MPs or ministers have the authority to formally inform Brussels about whether the UK intends to leave the European Union. The legal dispute focuses on article 50 of the treaty on European Union, which states that any member state may leave “in accordance with its own constitutional requirements” – an undefined term that has allowed both sides to pursue rival interpretations.

If the outcome rules in a way that MPs will vote, there is the possibility that they will be in favour of remaining.

So what was the point of the referendum?