Parliament finds May government in contempt for withholding terms of Brexit Tuesday Dec 04,2018

The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, also known as the EU referendum and the Brexit referendum, took place on June 23,2016 in the U.K

The referendum resulted in a simple majority of 51.9% being in favour of leaving the EU. Although legally the referendum was non-binding, the government of that time had promised to implement the result, and it initiated the official EU withdrawal process on 29 March 2017, which put the UK on course to leave the EU by 30 March 2019


In a historic first, the British Parliament found the government of Prime Minister Theresa May in contempt on Tuesday Dec 04,2018 for failing to release in full the advice it received from the country's top law officer about the terms of exiting the EU

The British government received a historic rebuke from lawmakers on Tuesday over its Brexit plans - an inauspicious sign for Prime Minister Theresa May as she opened an epic debate in Parliament that will decide the fate of her divorce deal with the European Union

Legislators in the House of Commons found the government in contempt of Parliament for refusing to publish in full the advice it had received from the country's top law officer about the terms of Britain's departure from the EU

The vote has little direct impact on the Brexit debate, but reflects mounting tension between the government and Parliament over the next steps in the U.K.'s exit

The reprimand, by 311 votes to 293, marks the first time a British government has been found in contempt of Parliament

Labour Party Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said the contempt finding was "unprecedented." The government said that in light of the vote it would publish the advice from Attorney General Geoffrey Cox on Wednesday Dec 05,2018

The parliamentary showdown delayed for several hours the start of debate on the Brexit deal. Lawmakers are due to hold five days of discussion before voting Dec. 11 on whether to accept or reject the agreement, which lays out the terms of Britain's departure from the bloc on March 29 and sets the framework for future relations with the EU.

Britain voted in 2016 to leave the 28-nation bloc, and invoked Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, triggering a two-year exit process. Article 50 is scant on details - largely because the idea of any country leaving the bloc was considered unlikely when it was drawn up - so a group of Scottish legislators asked the courts to rule on whether the U.K. can pull out of the withdrawal procedure on its own.

The advocate general said that Article 50 "allows the unilateral revocation of the notification of the intention to withdraw from the EU."

The EU's governing European Commission and European Council oppose unilateral revocation, arguing it requires unanimous agreement of the 27 remaining members of the bloc.