Thread by @uk_domain_names

Here's Why Labour Cannot be the Answer to Brexit...

The opposite of a hard Brexit isn't a soft Brexit. The opposite of a hard Brexit is Remain. As politicians harden their stance on Brexit, it is vital to stop Brexit once and for all.

Why? Because every single form of Brexit means leaving all the EU's trade deals and treaties. They stop applying to us the moment we leave. (A transition period only delays the consequences of losing them for a while.)

So once we Brexit, it's Game Over. We're completely at the mercy of whoever ends up as PM next. Could be Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, even Farage down the road. Brr, what a horrifying thought!

We'll have no protection if they go hog-wild. We're out of the EU at that point. Those treaties and trade deals are history. They can mess with anything they like. Walk away from negotiations, rip up environmental protections, strip away workers' rights, sell the NHS piecemeal...

You see, leaving is just the first step. Even if we leave without a deal, we're going to need some kind of relationship with the EU. It's no good pretending that the market on our doorstep (the one that covers half our trade) doesn't exist.

And that will mean long, painful negotiations. But in this second phase, the Government team will be the only ones on the UK side with a real say over the outcome. Parliament will be stuck observing.

There will be no checks and balances. No hard-fought late night debates on which particular form of Brexit to pursue. We will be out of the plane, and the Government of the day gets to dictate what sort of parachute we try to make on the way down.

Imagine that sort of power concentrated in the hands of the men and women battling to take over from May. We're exposed to a new world of infinite terrors no matter which Trumpish demagogue wins the scramble for power.

It hardly bears thinking about. And yet we must. The monster doesn't disappear just because we refuse to acknowledge it.

There is only one safe course, one solution that takes us out of danger completely: stop Brexit. Revoke Article 50 and step away from the edge. Soft Brexit doesn't cut it.

Stopping Brexit puts high hurdles in the way of future destruction. The then-Government would have to secure a new mandate for Brexit. That would mean organising and winning another referendum. Then opening negotiations with the EU all over again.

With a two-party system that's never been shakier, how likely does that seem any time soon? How likely is it that the public will vote for Brexit again, having experienced the chaos it promises? That major employers will sit on their hands and stay silent a second time?

Brexiters know this. They know this is their one and only shot at a prize some of them have been chasing for half a century. Out. Of. Europe. Two fingers to the foreigners. Wallow in the glorious memories of empire. They're never going to get another crack at it.

That's why their position keeps hardening. That's why you can be sure they'll do anything and everything to bring their chaos dreams to life. They know it's over if Brexit gets cancelled. The realities of politics, economics and demographics will see to that.

So it doesn't matter if Labour want a soft, cuddly Brexit. If they deliver Brexit - any Brexit - the damage is done. Bye bye treaties and trade deals, it was nice having you.

It is impossible to compromise with people who equate any form of compromise with Remain. So we should stop trying. As louder and shriller voices clamour for hard Brexit, we must demand Remain. Soft Brexit is not the middle ground, it is the gateway drug that leads to ruin.

That means Labour cannot be the answer. Their fence-sitting stance enables the forces chasing Brexit. Until they embrace Remain with unqualified, full-throated passion, just say no.

Added: this thread is also available as a PDF from the link below.
drive.google.com/file/d/1wmb9Ju…