Brexit Means Brexit? Are you having a laugh? We must have another Referendum

Depending on whether you voted to Remain or to Leave the EU you might or might not like the direction I am going in, but you cannot ignore the logic.  We are told by the Vote Leave camp that the vote was an overwhelming vote in favour of leaving.   Now I grant that the turnout was high but a margin of 4% is not what I call overwhelming.  This is particularly so when you take into account the large number of young 18-34 year olds who did not bother to vote, and we know that the vast majority of them are in favour of remaining in.

But the real issue is that, as is becoming increasingly clear, no one knew what they were voting for; no-one seems to know what Brexit actually means, including those who are accountable for delivering Brexit.  Not only is the government trying to keep its options open, which is a perfectly sensible negotiating position, but some pro-brexiteers, including Brexit minister David Davis, are backpeddling from key elements of the argument used in the referendum.  Davis says “You will find in no speech of mine any reference to [the £350mln]” (Times 14/9/16).  So not only was the £350mln misleading not to say a lie), but different members of the Vote Leave campaign were apparently able to offer different outcomes, which confirms that Vote Leave was, well, whatever you wanted it to be.

Now add the fact that the vote Leave campaign retired from the field and left a Remainer to deliver Brexit, the possibilities in terms of outcomes is endless.  So while Prime Minister May says “Brexit means Brexit”, how is it possible to say that people have agreed to whatever is going to come next?  Only Nigel Farage and others opposed to the EU in principle and not on a balance of benefits and costs, can say they would definitely Vote Leave again when they know what the outcome will be. 

Apparently the Prime Minister is allowed to reverse her predecessor’s policy on Grammar Schools without a mandate from the electorate,. So if politicians are allowed to change their minds or be flexible in the face of reality, why are the electorate not able to be?  Who has the right to say that when I know the facts, when the negotiations are finished and I can count the real cost, or benefits, to farmers, to industry, to the NHS, why can’t I also change my mind?  When people say that the EU referendum is final or was binding, it was not.  This decision is absolutely the most important one for more than a generation and the electorate have every right to say, at the end of the day, whether they still want to leave the EU.  If that is the result when the conditions for leaving are known, then so be it.