Re: We live in a parliamentary democracy
The major problem with membership of the EU... is that UK statutes do not apply where they conflict with EU law.
This is the simplistic way of looking at it.
In reality, it is that UK statutes do not apply if they conflict with our obligations under the European Communities Act, 1972.
Parliament is still sovereign, but it has agreed to abide by the rules of a club (the EU) in order to gain the benefits of that club. This agreement is on our statutes, passed by Parliament in accordance with our constitution.
In addition, many of the EU laws are actually also in UK law, also passed by Parliament.
It always irritates me when I hear about how Parliament is no longer sovereign* due to our membership of the EU. It is, and "EU laws" are only valid here due to Parliament agreeing to it. In any free trade agreement, a country must agree to certain rules in order to join. Those rules are agreed by Parliament and only have weight where Parliament agrees.
If we end up with FTAs or other trade deals after Brexit, we will have to agree to rules. OK, there may not be as many, or be in the same depth, as the EU rules, but it's all part of the negotiation of a treaty with another country. Does this mean that the UK Parliament is no longer sovereign?
* @David: I know you didn't directly make this claim so, if this was not your intent, this does not apply to you. It is a general comment about the fact that many make this statement and are, IMHO, wrong.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
