High Court Brexit ruling could force Theresa May to call election in 2017

Key pro-Brexit ministers have said that Theresa May may be forced to call an early election in the wake of a court judgement which ruled parliamentary approval was needed for Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which triggers Brexit.

After the High Court ruling on Thursday (3 November), senior ministers suggested the prime minister would need a mandate from the electorate in 2017 if MPs were required to legislate for the terms of Brexit, including whether to end freedom of movement or remain in the single market.

Ex-justice minister Dominic Raab said: "The elephant in the room here is if we get to the stage where [MPs] are not willing to allow this negotiation to even begin. I think there must be an increased chance that we will need to go to the country again.

"That would be a mistake and I don't think those trying to frustrate the verdict in the referendum will be rewarded," the Times reported.

Downing Street said its plan for Brexit had not changed and batted off any suggestions of a snap election, with a spokesperson saying: "We have no intention of letting this decision derail our timetable for triggering Article 50.

"Our position has been clear that there should not be an election before 2020. That remains the prime minister's view."

The government will take the High Court ruling, brought by Gina Miller, to the Supreme Court for appeal in December.

While MPs are unlikely to block Brexit outright, there are concerns among those in the Leave camp that parliamentarians may disrupt the process.

Former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith warned of the consequences of Brexit terms going before Parliament, saying: "Anything that risks having 650 people in the process would be utter chaos," he added, referring to the number of MPs.

Brexit secretary, David Davis, said the ruling by the three judges meant Brexit would require the consent of both MPs and Lords.

"The judges have laid out what we can't do, and not exactly what we can do, but we're presuming that it requires an act of parliament and therefore both Commons and Lords," he said.

A cross-party group of Tory and Labour MPs met to discuss how the ruling could be used to force May to reveal more about her Brexit approach, The Guardian revealed.

Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Treasury committee, said the government needed to be "much more transparent" about its objectives in Brexit negotiations, awhile shadow Brexit secretary, Sir Keir Starmer, said that the government was "duty bound to lay out its overarching strategy before parliament and put that to a vote".

Theresa May will meet Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission on Friday (4 November).