Thursday 4 January 2018

Rise of the Remainers

It seems the Brexit remain camp are getting their act together and are putting forward some plausible reasons for denying the democratic will of the people.

The latest is Tony Blair, who says that on the day of the referendum we voted to leave, but didn't know the terms of the deal and therefore Parliament should have a vote on the terms of the deal.

As a statement it all sounds very straightforward and reasonable, except:

After article 50 was triggered, the EU puts a deadline of 2 years on negotiations. Parliament will be debating on the outcome of the negotiations at the end of the two years. So it's not like Parliament can send the negotiators back for a better deal: it's take it or leave it. Vote to accept the deal or vote to reject it. Reject it and you drop into hard Brexit, exactly the scenario the remainers are dead against.

Are they really saying they will accept a poor deal or a worse situation than we are in now under any circumstances in order to keep the UK tied to the EU? Paying billions to the EU with no voting rights, no influence on legislation?

Are they saying they will not agree to any deal that involves us leaving the EU so we go to a hard Brexit just out of Spite to teach the population a lesson?

Or are they going to (as I suspect) put some spin on it and say the deal is bad, hard Brexit is worse, so lets stay in the EU anyway.... In effect having a "stay in" vote, without actually giving the population a say in the matter. And then revoke article 50.

In any of these scenarios, the remainers are saying they will frustrate the democratic will of the people. We are thick, we didn't know what we were voting for and therefore need to be steered away from the course we plotted for ourselves. We are petulant children that at best should be ignored or worse we should be punished.

The establishment figures in Parliament and it's Westminster bubble need to remember they are our servants: we put them there to do our bidding. They are not there to tell us to be our nanny. They asked us the question: in or out. We replied out and now Parliament should deliver that, as ordered by the people.

Out means out. Hard Brexit is the outest of outs, but I do acknowledge we have prior agreements to fulfil. Once those agreements and projects are completed, then we should not be contributing to the EU in any way. In effect paying extortion money to be able to trade with Europe.

In the years after Brexit and during the transition period, a more permanent solution to the Irish border needs to be produced. One that does not involve us paying money to the EU and certainly one that does not involve an open border to the EU. Otherwise we have a new route for immigrants.