• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, November 4, 2016

As disreputable as American tabloids are, you can at least say this in their favor: They don’t actively foment civil disorder.

By contrast, their cousins in the UK aren’t afraid to whip up the very worst emotions in their readers, even if it means someone may get slightly, how shall I say, mmmm, ah, murdered.

British tabloids are really letting themselves go in response to a high court’s ruling that the new government formed by Prime Minister Theresa May must – gasp! – ask Parliament for approval before initiating Article 50. That's the provision of the European Union treaty which must be invoked to trigger the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, colloquially known as “Brexit.”

A majority of Brits voted in favor of Brexit in a referendum held in June, prompting former Prime Minister David Cameron to resign. May, his successor, had planned to invoke Article 50 and begin negotiations with the EU over Brexit in March.

The ruling by a panel consisting of Britain’s Lord Chief Justice and two colleagues threatens to throw a wrench into the whole process, since a majority of current members of Parliament oppose Brexit.

How it will all pan out is anyone’s guess, and even serious newspapers have warned of a “constitutional crisis” in Britain, as the people’s will, as expressed in the referendum, differs from that of their elected representatives. Conversely, there’s still a possibility of the ruling being overturned by Britain’s Supreme Court.

So what do Britain’s execrable tabloids think about all this? Don’t worry, they’re happy to scream it in your face in classic spittle-flecked fashion! 

The Daily Mail is easily the worst, running a photo of the three high-court justices on its front page over the shrieking headline, “Enemies of the People.” The article goes on to declare the judges “enemies of democracy.”

The language is so inflammatory, it’s not unreasonable to fear for their safety, especially following the assassination of a pro-Remain member of Parliament, Jo Cox, by a pro-Brexit gunman a week before the referendum.

Among the damning accusations leveled by The Daily Mail: “A group of pro-Remain Tory and Labour MPs met to plot how the ruling could be used to force Mrs May to reveal more about her broad negotiating aims.” Treason, I say!

The Daily Telegraph struck a similar note, running pictures of the three judges under the headline: “The judges versus the people.” As with The Daily Mail headline, this formulation is rather odd, considering the judgment merely reiterated the sovereign power of Parliament, which is also a democratically elected body representing the people.

Then there’s The Sun, which played to readers’ xenophobia with this misleading summary of events: “Loaded foreign elite defy will of Brit voters.” This is apparently a reference to Gina Miller, a “foreign-born” British citizen who brought the original lawsuit along with a Brazilian hairdresser and a British expat, among others.

The only factual problem with this headline is that it’s, well, wrong. Miller is a British citizen, and in any event, it isn’t the plaintiffs who issue decisions and “defy the will” of the voters, but the judges. All are British citizens born in Britain, and therefore not “foreign” by any stretch of the imagination.  

In conclusion: It’s starting to look a lot like Weimar!