Today’s Supreme Court hearing on Brexit is undoubtedly the most controversial in the court’s seven year history, says the Times. The case will examine the Government’s appeal against the earlier High Court ruling that Article 50 cannot be triggered without the say-so of Parliament. But what’s most remarkable about today’s hearing is the fact Theresa May allowed it to get to this position in the first place, the paper says. The Times suggests that ‘at any point since Theresa May entered Downing Street in July she could have called and easily won a parliamentary vote mandating her to deliver Brexit’ – but in choosing not to it shows ‘an early and inauspicious mark’ against her Downing Street record. The paper goes on to say that Theresa May should not be afraid of having to give Parliament a ‘running commentary’ on Brexit. But if she fails to ‘set out the broad direction’ of her approach, then it’s inevitable that ‘others will do it for her,’ the paper warns.
Ahead of this morning’s hearing, the Daily Telegraph delves into the earlier High Court case to suggest it was ‘regrettable’ that judges chose to listen to the case in the first place. The paper goes on to say that if the Supreme Court upholds the verdict, it could find itself ‘dictating to Parliament’ – which, it says, could represent ‘an inversion of the normal constitutional order’. Echoing the comments made in the Times‘s editorial, the Telegraph says Theresa May has little to worry about, given that she has an ‘unbeatable case and the clear backing of millions’. But the Telegraph also says ‘the time for silence is over’, and calls on Mrs. May to ‘tell Britain more about what Brexit will mean’ – in order to fill the vacuum which is leaving room for ‘speculation, hints and mischief-making by friend and foe alike’.
In its editorial, the Financial Times also calls on Theresa May to come clean about her Brexit targets. The paper suggests that while there have been hints over the last few days that ministers are in favour of flexibility, there has been little comment from the PM who remains ‘unwilling to set out her aims for the negotiation’. The FT says that this seems to show one thing: that May is ‘struggling to keep her party together’. ‘Sooner or later,’ the paper concludes, she will have to face up to those wanting ‘the hardest of “hard” Brexits’.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express offers a more favourable assessment of Theresa May. The Brexit-backing newspaper says that the PM is ‘already plotting ways of ensuring that Parliament supports triggering Article 50’ – even if the Supreme Court case goes against her. The paper says that this forward planning makes it clear that May is ‘diligent’ in her approach – something which ‘bodes well for triggering Article 50, the Brexit negotiations and the rest of her time in Number 10 as well’.
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