The political dilemma for parliament after a vote for Brexit | Letters

Your report on the consequences of a leave vote (Guerilla campaign mooted, 7 June) quotes a pro-European MP saying "We would have to respect the mandate of the referendum". But it is quite unclear what that mandate might be, as the referendum question does not specify the range of alternatives to full EU membership should the UK vote to leave. Until parliament has determined whether, for example, it wishes the UK to remain in the European Economic Area, it would be inappropriate for David Cameron to formally notify the EU of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU. A leave vote would therefore need to be followed by an emergency debate in parliament from Monday 27 June onwards about the UK's withdrawal options, where the most likely outcome, as you indicate, would be overwhelming support for the UK to remain in EEA, which would of course outrage hard-line Brexiters in the Conservative party.

At the same time another more fundamental problem might arise in the wake of a UK referendum leave vote. What if Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales vote remain, their MPs propose an amendment to parliament's EEA motion in support of the UK's continued membership of the EU, and pro-EU English MPs vote with them to pass their amendment? The UK would be plunged into a full-blown constitutional crisis concerning the very sovereignty of parliament.
Professor Steve Giles
University of Nottingham