Got a nice (well, angry and abusive, actually) email to finish my working day, including the golden oldie: "Leave won. So why don't you just get over it?" Very happy to answer that one. Here's a brief summary of my main reasons for not "just getting over it":
1) Brexit is a profound act of long term national diminishment - squandering our leadership in Europe and through it much of our influence in the wider world...
2) Brexit is one of the largest and most far-reaching decisions, by any population in modern history, to disenfranchise itself from a vast range of rights and freedoms, protections and safeguards – not least against its own future governments...
3) The 2016 referendum and its ongoing aftermath have succeeded in making a mockery of the UK as a mature and responsible democracy. The precedent of rewarding systematic political dishonesty is terrible. The self-inflicted damage to our reputation and standing is shocking...
4) Brexit remains a vast distraction, a huge waste of time and energy and money and resources – all of which are being poured – not into trying to improve our country and the lives of its people – but simply into trying to limit the damage of Brexit itself...
5) Treatment of EU citizens in UK / UK citizens in EU27 is one of the great scandals of modern Britain. The uncertainty and anxiety –plus public slander and private hostility– forced upon millions of people is quite simply a dark stain upon the moral conscience of this nation...
6) Though has to be said: risking the achievements and stability of hard won peace in Northern Ireland - in many cases, not even giving the slightest damn about the consequences for my homeland and its lovely people - is another contender for that particular crown...
7) Offering inspiration for (and of course drawing its main international support from) the forces of illiberal authoritarianism (the Trumps, the Bolsonaros and let's not forget the Putins) who are on the march right across the Western world...
Plenty of others, of course. And shouldn't be too surprised: that's what happens when you take a reasonably well-run and stable country (whatever its faults) and chose to throw it into utter turmoil on the back of the lies and fantasies of a gang of populist hard right charlatans
And that, dear Leave correspondent, is why I won't "just get over it". Plus the fact that I'm a sentient being, concerned about my country and its closest friends, able and entitled to form and advocate opinions, without being bullied into silence by PEOPLE WHO USE CAPS A LOT
I've had two main Leave retorts (besides effin'n'jeffin). 1) "Enemy of the people". Spoken like a true proto-fascist. 2) "At least we'll get our sovereignty back". Sorry to break it to you, but you never lost it. As your Supreme Court said in Miller & HMG in Feb 2017 White Paper
Anyone interested in "sovereignty" propaganda might enjoy this short article I published a while ago - including little example of current unelected PM @BorisJohnson misleading Parliamentary Committee (cue feigned surprise):
radstats.org.uk/no118/Dougan11…
Bon weekend!
radstats.org.uk/no118/Dougan11…
Bon weekend!
