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Closed Let Parliament decide whether or not we remain a member of the European Union

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The people of the United Kingdom just voted to leave the European Union.

However, the referendum is not binding and Parliament remains supreme. As a representative democracy, this petition proposes that we hand the question over to those qualified, and paid by taxpayers, to answer it.

The European Union is a complex institution. As such, politicians and the media have been unable to present clear, factual and un-biased information to the general public on either side of the referendum debate. The outcome, therefore, has been largely the product of misinformation and the referendum should not be the basis on which we, as a country, make such a monumental decision.

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  • Petition closed

  • Related activity

    MPs to debate petitions about the UK's exit from the EU

    The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate on six petitions relating to the UK's exit from the European Union, including this one.

    The debate will take place on Monday 17 October at 4.30pm in Westminster Hall.

    You can watch the debate live on Parliament TV: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Commons

    The six petitions that will be debated are:

    E-petition 133618: "Invoke article 50 of the Lisbon treaty immediately"
    E-petition 125333: "Repeal the 1972 European Communities Act immediately on EU referendum out vote"
    E-petition 123324: "The 23 June should be designated as Independence Day, and celebrated annually."
    E-petition 154593: "Not to allow freedom of movement as part of any deal with the EU after Brexit"
    E-petition 133767: "Ask the Government not to invoke article 50 of the Lisbon treaty"
    E-petition 133540: "Let Parliament decide whether or not we remain a member of the European Union"

    What will happen?

    Paul Scully MP, a Member of the Petitions Committee will open the debate. Other MPs will then take part.

    MPs can discuss one or more of the six petitions and, if they wish, ask questions about the government's position on the issue or press the government to take action. A government minister will respond to the points raised at the end of the debate.

    Petition debates in Westminster Hall cannot directly change the law or result in a vote to implement the request of a petition. They are a way to help raise the profile of a campaign and could influence decision-making in Government and Parliament.

    Other recent work related to your petition in Parliament:

    You may also be interested to know that on Wednesday 12 October, MPs debated Parliamentary scrutiny of leaving the EU.

    You can watch the debate on Parliament TV: http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9da7b790-789f-46f3-8fbd-b0cc29e949fb?in=12:56:50

    You can read the debate on the Hansard website:
    https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-10-12/debates/F327EC64-3777-4D40-A98D-BEC2E11763A2/ParliamentaryScrutinyOfLeavingTheEU?utm_source=petitions

    Who are we?

    We are a group of cross-party MPs called the Petitions Committee. We are independent from Government. You can find out more about us on our website: http://www.parliament.uk/petitions-committee/role

    You can follow us on Twitter: @HoCpetitions

  • Government responded to this petition

    The British people have voted to leave the EU and their will must be respected. Parliament will clearly have an important role in making sure we find the best way forward.

    Read the response in full

    The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected and delivered. Parliament overwhelmingly supported the Referendum Bill by a margin of 6 to 1. While legally there is no obligation to consult Parliament on triggering Article 50, it will clearly have an important role in making sure that we find the best way forward.

    Department for Exiting the European Union

  • Government will respond to this petition

    This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 29 December 2016.