Showing posts with label New European. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New European. Show all posts

Friday, 31 January 2020

Brexitwatch: the blame game

If you think Brexit is going to be a success, ask yourself this. Why are those responsible for it so desperately looking for people to blame?

The Tories have been doing it ever since the referendum result: the EU (for being 'inflexible'), Remainers (for being 'enemies of the PEOPLE'), foreigners (for being foreigners). Now Labour's in the game too. Having gone along with the Brexit disaster, it's claiming it's all the fault of the LibDems. Even the New European newspaper, for which I have great respect, seems to have fallen for this line. 

So here's the letter I sent to put TNE right (and which, to be fair, they published), and the cartoon that prompted it.




Monday, 6 January 2020

Election reflections: wakey, wakey Labour!

In the General Election, the Libdems' vote increased (by 3 times more than the Tories'), while Labour's vote collapsed, so Labour's Andrew Adonis used his New European column to call on the Libdems to disband! The NE has published the letter I sent in reply





Sunday, 16 September 2018

Brexitwatch: London demands a People's Vote



If you wrote to your London Assembly member asking them to back a referendum on the terms of the UK leaving the EU (see my posts of Sept 2 and 3), well done! In spite of the opposition of Conservative and UKIP members, the Assembly decided to back democracy, and today mayor Sadiq Khan has added his voice to the demand for a People's Vote. 

Writing endless letters and emails is often frustrating, but it does work. My own belief is that Brexit will only be stopped when most MPs start to believe their careers will be damaged more by dragging us out of the EU than by letting us stay in it. Every anti-Brexit letter or email they receive helps to bring them to that conclusion.

Regular readers of this blog will know I reject the 'People's Will' argument. The referendum was advisory and explicitly non-binding on MPs. It offered bad advice and it was the duty of MPs to reject it in the national interest (see my post of March 29 etc).

But even if you accept the argument, it is clear the 'People's Will' has changed, with some polls suggesting 59% would now support staying in the EU. The New European has an interesting figure. 

MPs decided to prevent 16 and 17 year olds from voting in the referendum even though they were going to have to live with its consequences longer than the people who were allowed to vote. About 1.5 million of them turn 18 between the referendum in June 2016 and March 29 next year when we are due to leave the EU. More than 80% of them want to stay. Don't give up the fight. Stop Brexit.