Why there should be a general election before Article 50 is triggered

In July 2016 the Conservative Party was selecting a new leader who was expected to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of the UK leaving the European Union. Kenneth Armstrong writes that as the UK would need to set out what sort of new relationship it wanted with the EU, there was a clear case for an early general election being held before Article 50 was triggered. This would allow the electorate to choose between alternative political visions of the UK’s future trade and cooperation arrangements with the EU.

• Primary Source

European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service: Briefing, 2016: Article 50 TEU: Withdrawal of a Member State from the EU http://www.europeansources.info/record/article-50-teu-withdrawal-of-a-member-state-from-the-eu/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

ESO: Background information: Brexit: Legal steps seek to ensure Commons vote on Article 50 http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-legal-steps-seek-to-ensure-commons-vote-on-article-50-british-government-rejects-petition-for-second-eu-vote/

openDemocracy: Can Europe Make It?, 01.07.16: Post-exit Britain: democracy or autocracy? https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/alex-goodman/post-exit-britain-democracy-or-autocracy

LSE Brexit Vote, 08.08.16: Invoke Article 50 now? Be careful what you wish for http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexitvote/2016/08/08/invoke-article-50-now-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/

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