THREAD: Thank you Vernon Bogdanor for stating what many of us on twitter have said but virtually no politician dare admit
There is no such thing as *Soft* Brexit. The Hard vs Soft debate is a ruse, a disingenuous attempt to *respect the result* without destroying the country
There is no such thing as *Soft* Brexit. The Hard vs Soft debate is a ruse, a disingenuous attempt to *respect the result* without destroying the country
As if just leaving the seats in the European Parliament is what *leave the EU* meant in the referendum, The debate (if it can be dignified as a debate) was not about a building. It was about the rights & obligations, the costs & benefits, of EU membership.
Not only is there no such thing as Soft Brexit: There is no such thing as *respecting the result* of an advisory referendum. A *political mandate* can't override the legal status of an Act of Parliament. The fact that MPs misled the public changes nothing except their reputation
An advisory referendum yields an opinion, not a decision. Whatever *respecting an opinion* might mean, it does not mean acting on it willy nilly. Sane governments do not ask for & enact an opinion before they assess the implications & very meaning of the opinion they sought
Nor do sane governments ask lay voters for an opinion without first giving them clear & detailed information. Yet Britons were indoctrinated for decades with naked lies about the EU, which Boris had the chutzpah to admit he did as *a bit of a jape* & for *a weird sense of power*
If *respecting an opinion* means anything, it means taking it into account or agreeing it has merit. Brexit has not been shown to have any merit. Quite the contrary. The very point of the referendum was that a Remain win would quell the damaging influence of UKIP & Europhobes
This mess is the fault of the media who were derelict in their duty to separate fact from propaganda; of MPs too cavalier in passing the Bill & campaigning on the referendum, and then too cowardly to deal with their botch up. Even the proposed ref on the deal passes the buck.
MPs have forgotten their duty in our democracy. They've forgotten how to think. Bogdanor exposed the nonsense & ignorance of Corbyn's *landmark* CU speech. With both Gov't & Opposition unfit, MPs must rise above party politics and populism, and lead. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
