Nick Clegg has called for a general election before any attempt is made to activate article 50, the legal mechanism triggering negotiations for an exit from the EU.

The ardently pro-EU former deputy prime minister argues that the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act envisaged exceptional circumstances in which an early election can be held, and those provisions should be invoked.

In an article for the Guardian, Clegg, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, writes: “The EU referendum has exploded constitutional, political and economic conventions. Our country is in a tailspin. An election of a new parliament in which MPs act responsibly to manage our historic divorce from the EU is the only way to forge some order out of the present chaos.”

Theresa May, the home secretary and the frontrunner to succeed David Cameron as prime minister, has said she did not want to offer an early general election because she had stood on the mandate won in 2015, but also because it would be a “destabilising factor” during an uncertain time. In his declaration to stand for the leadership, the justice secretary, Michael Gove, also ruled out an election before 2020 and no triggering of article 50, the two-year process for formally leaving the EU, before the end of the year.

Clegg argues that this is in effect back to front. First, he calls on each Conservative leadership candidate to set out, in detail, what they think Britain’s future relationship with Europe should be. Second, the new prime minister should immediately publish a white paper setting out a full plan. Third, they must then seek a democratic mandate for their plan in an early election.

Britain must have a general election before activating article 50 | Nick Clegg Read more

“Importantly, the election must be held before any attempt is made to activate article 50, the legal mechanism triggering the negotiations for EU exit. Starting that clock ticking before people have had an opportunity to cast a judgment on what life would actually look like outside the EU would be deeply undemocratic,” says Clegg.

An election would also give all parties the opportunity to set out their stalls on what the UK’s new relationship with Europe should be, he says.

“As Tim Farron has made clear, the Liberal Democrats will fight that election on a patriotically pro-European platform. Labour, whether under Jeremy Corbyn or not, will need to make up its mind,” Clegg says.

Under Clegg’s scenario, MPs after an election would scrutinise the government’s specific plan to ensure it was legal and workable, and crucially, article 50 should only be triggered following a vote of consent from MPs. He points out that many top legal experts have disputed the notion that the prime minister can invoke article 50 on her or his own.

“Finally, the definitive, negotiated terms both of our exit from, and our future relationship with, the EU must then be put back to parliament for a vote of consent,” argues Clegg.

Tony Blair has said the government should delay triggering article 50, “for as long as it takes to get an idea of how the other side looks”.

The former prime minister told Dermot Murnaghan on Sky News: “I’m not saying we should have another referendum. I’m not saying you can revisit this. I’m simply saying there’s no rule about this – we’re a sovereign people, we can do what we want to do.”