The referendum was enacted as part of an elected party's manifesto that promised to implement the result. After the election, parties voted to enact Article 50

The referendum was enacted as part of an elected party's manifesto that promised to implement the result. After the election, parties voted to enact Article 50. After enacting Article 50, the parties that campaigned in the following general election on a promise to implement the decision to leave were overwhelmingly successful. Ignoring the referendum would have been a poor decision.