Should There be a Revote on Brexit?

[parochial boy]

Don't understand the logic people aren't allowed to change their minds - it shouldn't be the British people paying for the short-sightedness, arrogance and obsessions of Conservative party politicians.

[parochial boy]

Thing is, the idea that any given issue should only be voted on once has never been how direct democracy works in practice.

We held dozens of referendums on "limiting mass immigration" until one eventually passed. Should the right-wing nationalists have just shut up when they lost the first one in the 1970s? or when they lost the Schengen vote in 2005? or the free movement vote in 2009?

[parochial boy]

Some of you might do well to remember that Brexit is something that is going to have a huge human cost.

As it stands it's going to break up families, destroy livelihoods and so on. But sure, Britain should go through with it because I've got a bunch of facile clichés to flog

[parochial boy]

In May, Switzerland is going to be having a referendum about a question that it had 2 years ago - because the circumstances and the options available have changed in the mean time.

Of course, no-one is up in arms about this, because this is how mature direct democracies actually work.

Either you have a coherent logic about how, why and when referendums are held - or else whining about what the "democratic will of the people" is is essentially meaningless.

[parochial boy]

The incumbent party holding a referendum on a marginal issue as a form of internal party management is not exactly great precedent either.

And if the Swiss rules with regards to referendums applied in the UK, you can absolutely guarantee that there would be a second referendum.