Damage to freedom of individuals could be worst outcome of Brexit

British law, and the courts enforcing it, has a sacramental significance to older Tory voters, says Terry Prone

In the Brexit campaign leading up to the June 2016 referendum, not much reference was made by Remainers to the European Courts. Neither the European Court of Justice (ECJ) nor the European Court of Human Rights figured much in pre-referendum debate.

The courts were certainly not sold by Remainers as a significant advantage implicit in EU membership. Irritation with those courts did, however, run in the background to the “John Bull is done with being dictated to by Europe” side of the argument. If you scratch many Brexiteers, you find that the notion of a European judicial institution having primacy over UK equivalents unacceptable to them. British law, and the courts enforcing it, has a sacramental significance to older Tory voters.