Wednesday 17th January
The famous referendum was a close run thing; 52% to 48%. I can remember Cameron standing outside No. 10 and resigning – and basically running away from the mess he had caused. Theresa may picked up the baton and declared that she would make a success of Brexit. And ever since then there has been a stunned silence from the Remain camp. It took Gina Miller to go to court to force the Government to not only ensure that Parliament triggered Article 50, but also that Parliament must have a say on the final deal (or no deal, as May keeps on threatening). Labour have sat precariously on the fence – all I can say is that the sharp palings must be making Jeremy’s bottom pretty sore by now. Apart from Tony Blair, practically no-one is making the case for rejecting the referendum, or at the very least having a second one to reverse the first. The trouble is they (and there seem perilously few) are leaving things far too late. By the time any eventual deal is agreed (or not) and the terms put to Parliament there won’t be time for a second referendum at all.
And even if parliament is brave enough (which I very much doubt) to reject the deal, where will that leave us? As far as I know any deal will have to be agreed by all 28 countries (including us) and ratified in their respective Parliaments and also agreed by the European Union. What happens if any one of these (it could be us, or others) says no, is totally unclear. Under some interpretations we will leave anyway, but without an agreed deal at all. Others say that negotiations will have to continue until some deal is eventually agreed by all parties.
Undoubtedly if Theresa May either fails to get her deal passed by Parliament, or in fact walks away with no deal, then she will have to call a general election. And then who knows what will happen. I still cannot see Labour promising to Remain. The best we could hope for is that Labour wins and goes back to the EU to get a better deal,
But….by leaving everything until Mrs. May has negotiated some sort of a deal is far too dangerous. I really find it hard to believe that our Politicians (at least the majority, who wanted Remain) are still transfixed like rabbits caught in the headlights of some approaching juggernaut which threatens to drive us completely off the road.