Invoking ‘democracy’ to avoid another referendum is the refuge of charlatans”
4762 Mins Read
Britain’s worst politicians, which is to say the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties, pretend that the democracy of a second referendum is a danger to democracy.
Outsiders may believe that the true danger lies in a Brexit that threatens the hard-won peace in Ireland, the union with Scotland, the living standards of the poorest people and regions and Britain’s influence in the world, for the sake of a fantasy that was invented by charlatans and is being implemented by incompetents, so unqualified in statecraft they can neither agree among themselves nor be honest with the public about the dismal choices ahead.
Not so, according to the far left and far right that drive the agendas of the major parties – and when in our history have such minor figures dominated “the major parties”? After all other arguments against putting the Brexit choices to the electorate fail, they turn to the threat of violence. “There will be a backlash the likes of which the political classes in this country simply cannot understand,” warned Nigel Farage. Rather than say that a decent left must fight Farage and the thugs he imagines swarming on to the streets, John McDonnell agrees, as he and Jeremy Corbyn have agreed with Farage on Brexit throughout their careers. Trump’s ally was correct. There cannot be a second referendum because it would provide “opportunities for the far right”.
Nick Cohen writes “Invoking ‘democracy’ to avoid another referendum is the refuge of charlatans”
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