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I've seen a number of threads today on Remain's failure to campaign effectively against Farage and the populist Brexit Party. I've long argued that there is a fundamental flaw in Remain's strategy. That flaw plays into the Brexit Party's hands. 1/
The fundamental flaw is that Remain is asking for a People's Vote, and that it is not asking for revoke. (My case for Revoke, from December, is here: blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2018/12…) 2/
A people's vote would make sense in a world in which we (the UK) had a settled path for Brexit, and MPs wanted to assess whether there was sufficient popular support for that Brexit. 3/
Brexiters would argue that such a vote is not necessary, and that the leave vote of 2016 provides the country with a sufficient mandate. Were they to lose that argument, they would then, in the people's vote, make a passionate case for Brexit. 4/
It beggars belief that people do not seem to realise that we do not inhabit the world just described. Nigel Farage is making political capital, because he is characterising not just Remain, but also the Withdrawal Agreement, as a betrayal. 5/
He is not cheering on the Govt in their tortuous effort to try to implement Brexit. He is not willing the cross-party talks to reach some sort of consensus. He is inviting people to demonstrate their scorn for all politicians. 6/
His message resonates because he is, in part, right. Politicians have, in the years since 2016 failed to deliver Brexit. They have, in can be argued, traduced in particular those who voted leave. 7/
But, the failure of politicians is not quite that they have failed to deliver Brexit, but rather that they have failed even to define Brexit, to explain the different implications of different possible Brexits. 8/
In this, Farage is as culpable as anyone. The Brexit Party has no manifesto! He offers no solutions. 9/
But... it is easy for him to treat Remain's calls for a people's vote, between remain and the withdrawal agreement, with scorn. He can claim with some justification that leavers did not vote for either of the available options. 10/
Isn't it better to call for revoke? To argue that there is no version of Brexit which commands support in Parliament, and which improves on the deal we currently have with the EU? 11/
By calling for revoke, Remain would put the onus on Brexiters to find a solution which can command support. I rather think that would prove to be much more difficult territory for the Brexit party. 12/12
