Article 50 ruling: UK Supreme Court gives parliament Brexit vote

Britain's Supreme Court has ruled that the UK government must hold a vote in parliament before beginning the process of leaving the European Union.
The decision is a complication for Prime Minister Theresa May, who wanted to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty -- the legal mechanism that begins the process of leaving the EU -- by the end of March. Doing so would open the door for EU negotiations, which are likely to last two years.
May had promised lawmakers a vote on the outcome of the talks, but wanted to begin the process without a decision in parliament.
The Supreme Court judges voted eight to three against the government, upholding a November High Court decision. The judges, who deliberated the case over four days in December, said that the legal consequences of leaving the EU were great enough to require an act of parliament to start the process.
"To proceed otherwise would be breach of settled constitutional principles stretching back many centuries," Lord David Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court, said as he read out the ruling.
But the court decided that the UK government did not need the approval of devolved governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to begin the negotiating process.
That decision is likely to be met with relief at 10 Downing Street, as 62% of Scots voted to remain in the union, and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has remained opposed to the country's EU withdrawal.
What the UK government said
The government said it was disappointed by the ruling, but would abide by it.
Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General for England and Wales, told reporters outside the court that ministers would "comply with the judgment of the court and do everything necessary to implement it."
But a spokesperson for Theresa May said the ruling would not change the government's Brexit timeline.
"The British people voted to leave the EU, and the government will deliver on their verdict -- triggering Article 50, as planned, by the end of March. Today's ruling does nothing to change that," the spokesperson said in a statement.
"It's important to remember that parliament backed the referendum by a margin of six to one and has already indicated its support for getting on with the process of exit to the timetable we have set out."
Brexit has become a key test of Prime Minister May's leadership. May took over the premiership after former leader David Cameron stood down over the Brexit vote. Cameron had called the referendum but had campaigned for the country to remain in the union.