My position on Brexit

Time to post my position on Brexit.  From the outset, let me make it clear I did NOT vote for Brexit and I certainly didn’t agree a referendum was such a great idea.

I recently clocked a Brexit related post on A Retirement Blog and I made a comment from which a nice little conversation flowed.  Happily I broadly agreed with Carre Risover and Tracy Altieri who is from the US.

Going back to the 2015 general election, it was plainly obvious the Prime Minister at the time, Rt Hon David Cameron MP, was worried about the number of his supporters who were defecting in their droves to UKIP.  He promised a referendum if re-elected.  We all know that happened and how it started the UK sliding down the slippery slope towards the dire mess we are in with Brexit.

Hustings in Dunstable

Although I was pretty sure I wanted to remain in the EU, I was keen to attend the hustings which took place in Dunstable.  I was interested in other people’s points of view.  If anything, my view was made firmer through hearing the arguments.  Skilfully chaired by Mark Lawrence, each of the political parties could put their own position across.  Although we both agreed on remaining, I remember being disappointed by Andrew Selous MP yet again; his arguments for remaining were based wholly on economic reasons.  Shallow, I thought.

I was pleased to hear Graham Colley who represented the Remain Campaign.  He was new to me.  He spoke of the peace and unity which has existed across the EU since the Second World War and this was exactly how I had seen it.  He was right to point out how we had to think of the ‘greater good’ in deciding which way to vote.  Again I wholeheartedly agreed with him.

An important factor is our future freedom of speech and I believe our current laws have stood the test of time pretty well.  We have the right to speak publicly, to express opinions and to hold the Government to account.  And yet we mustn’t be slanderous, untruthful or bring insult or cause distress.  Defining those is sometimes difficult, as recent Court cases have shown.  Whichever way Brexit goes, we must cling on to our right to express ourselves, our faith, our beliefs and this is paramount.

Sure, the EU is far from perfect.  I too am slightly nervous of the EU’s supposed ability to override our Courts or Parliament and yet I’m not convinced about this.  In fact I remember reading how The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP had asked a question about this at Prime Minister’s Question Time.  The question was about the number of times any law has been imposed on the UK which the UK Government disputed.  The answer was none.   This blows away those arguments about us losing our sovereignty to an unaccountable authority somewhere else.

Once the 2016 referendum result was known and the Brexit process was starting, I recall chatting to a friend who was clearly delighted with the result as it would mean so much extra money for the NHS (remember that little lie?).  At the time I worked in local government and I commented how future EU money coming into Bedfordshire, or any other local authority for that matter, was suddenly in doubt.  Her face dropped and she said she had no idea we ever had any EU money.  Perhaps she may have then reflected on whether she had voted the right way.  This is yet another example of how people voted in such ignorance.

The People’s Vote

There seems to be a growing argument for another vote on Brexit and whether we should go ahead, depending on what the final deal looks like.

I am sitting on the fence with this.  Sure the final deal needs the utmost scrutiny.  We cannot afford to get this wrong.  Whether the British public can be trusted to understand all of the issues (I certainly don’t understand them all) and then make a wise decision is open to question.

Is this not what we pay and elect our politicians for?

Is this not why we have the House of Lords and their collective wisdom being applied to the checks and balances?

Is this (as one of my friends interestingly suggested) is not why we have a Monarch?

It would be wholly wrong if our future with the EU – and arguably the rest of the World – is decided on the narrow margin of the 2016 referendum; a referendum which was inappropriate in the first place, based on so many lies and scare stories and complexities which the ordinary public could never understand?

My position on Brexit

So where do I stand?  What is my position with Brexit?  While I feel unsettled about contradicting the democratic message from the referendum, I do hope we can, somehow, remain in the EU for the sake of our wellbeing, the economy, all of the benefits of being within EU; the greater good.  The pressing need is to maintain our position in the EU for the greater good across the whole of the EU, not just our little part.  So what if it costs more than we get back?  Surely having a unified peace across Europe is far more important than a Europe which then starts to break up?

I hope we can remain in the EU but only in the right way and for all of the right reasons.