To wish people would STOP saying 52% of people voted for Brexit......

[BertrandRussell]

No they didn't.

38ish% did.

That's 38%. This seismic change has been triggered by 38% of the population.

[Pendu]

You had up until 5pm on the day of the referendum to make some emergency vote ( not sure what that was - maybe by proxy?). If it's that important to people, they will find a way. No point whinging now

[21stCenturyBreakdown]

Bullshit. Cameron had to include it to get the Eurosceptics in his own party to back the party line during the election.

So there were eurosceptics within the Conservative party who needed to be appeased, but not amongst the general public?

I wanted out of the EU well before the referendum was offered and was delighted when it was - it was one of the things that cemented my vote for the Conservative party. There are many others like me.

[DianaRoss]

InShock If some are not eligible to vote then that's uumm how do you say, the rules!

[TiggyD]

The people who didn't vote didn't really care what side won.

Would you have been moaning if it had been the other way round?

[GloriaGaynor]

Cameron had to include it to get the Eurosceptics in his own party to back the party line during the election

He didn't have to do anything of the sort. He chose to, in one of the most disastrous judgments in Britihs political history.

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

You could argue that the majority of the electorate didn't want a referendum in the first place. The Conservative party didn't get 50% of the votes cast, let alone of the electorate on their promise of a referendum. So a minority voted for a referendum that has been won by a minority of the electorate.
If Cameron had paid more attention to this vote's mechanics and spent less time trying to insist trade unions needed 50% of the membership vote to take industrial action perhaps things would have been different.

[DianaRoss]

Some of you are saying that it's the older folk who voted Leave. If that is so, then they are the ones who voted IN in 1973. They are now in their 60s & 70s and have known both systems.

But it's not just that demographic of course; there were trades union members who defied their union bosses. It's all about not being under the yoke of a committee that sits overseas but has dominion over our Supreme Court.

[emeraldlakes]

52% of voters with a 72.2% turn out. That seems democratic to me. We all know if you give up your chance to vote then you don't get a say in the result.

[BertrandRussell]

Oh don't be silly. Of course it's democratic- nobody said anything different!

[InShockReally]

Democracy isn't some infallible system, and isn't always a wonderful good in itself.

It's not enough to just give people a vote - they need to know exactly and fairly what they are voting for, for their own sakes. Otherwise it's just the same thing; a rich elite manipulating the poor masses and calling it "democracy".

It's absolutely not fair to say: "Here's your vote, now - option A will give you money in the NHS, control over borders, and own legislation. Option B costs us too much money."

People are being cheated.

[Kimononono]

Yes OP
1,269,501 more voters than wanted to leave than stay.

[Kimononono]

inshock - so what your saying is we shouldn't have democracy if it's not what you would choose? As clearly all the leavers were like zombies walking to the polling stations believing that what you have stated. And just that.

If that makes you feel better about it all crack on

[InShockReally]

No. I'm just saying it's not perfect.

We need better education, politicians who don't lie and can't get away with those lies, and when it comes to seismic shifts in society (and the world economy) we need a proper proportional votes.

It doesn't make me feel better about anything - how could it?

[BigChocFrenzy]

Those who choose not to vote have chosen to accept that others decide for them.
Younger voters in particular need to realise that an FB "like" doesn't count
Same as in a GE

[GloriaGaynor]

Democracy isn't some infallible system, and isn't always a wonderful good in itself

It's not enough to just give people a vote - they need to know exactly and fairly what they are voting for, for their own sakes. Otherwise it's just the same thing; a rich elite manipulating the poor masses and calling it "democracy".

People are being cheated

Precisely. And that is why referenda were banned in Germany after WW2, because it was so laughably easy to manipulate an ignorant populace who have no idea what they're really voting about.

[Kimononono]

shock nothing in life is perfect how can it be when there are so many differnt people with different views.

There was a vote, the majority won. ALL polititions lie and screw people over, that's why so many people did not believe a word of what they were saying.

[BertrandRussell]

"As clearly all the leavers were like zombies walking to the polling stations believing that what you have stated. And just that."

Well- as none of them seem to be able to give a cogent, tangible reason for their vote, I am being forced towards that conclusion..............

[Kimononono]

Well luckily in UK in this day and age gloria people are allowed to vote in what they for what they believe in. This isn't a dictatorship. Thank fuck!

And comparing the two two is absurd.

[Kimononono]

There have been many bert what are you talking about!?

I've honestly never seen such bigotry as I have seen in the past day and half on MN. You are hell bent on not wanting to see it from any other perspective than your own and that means you can only discuss things with like minded people rather than a broad spectrum. How closed minded. I feel sorry for you that you have such hate in you.

[grannytomine]

Presumably they all studied with Michael "I want all children to be above average" Gove.

[InShockReally]

But Kim, if they're not voting for what they really think they are, then how is that ok?

If you've been told X Y Z will happen if you choose option 1, and then are told right afterwards "oh, no it won't", how is that better than a dictatorship?

[BertrandRussell]

"There have been many bert what are you talking about!?"

Fantastic Hit me with a couple!!!!!

[GloriaGaynor]

Well luckily in UK in this day and age gloria people are allowed to vote in what they for what they believe in. This isn't a dictatorship. Thank fuck!

And comparing the two two is absurd

You have completely misunderstood. The German people were allowed to vote freely for what they believed in - namely the militarising the Rhineland in 36 and annexing Austria in 38, they were unfortunately completely ignorant of the consequences.

[DailyMailEthicalFail]

Well I haven't misunderstood.

Comparing this result to annexing Austria in 1938 (and what led on in WW2) is utterly ridiculous and rather offensive.

People voted Brexit. Accept it and move on.
Scotland will get a 2nd crack at the IndyRef now which will go Leave.
I will have to vote in my 3rd referendum in 3 years, and the vote will not be what I wanted / or why I wanted each time.
But ...

It is a democracy.
The People aren't stupid and vote as they choose.
Who are you to tell them that they shouldn't/couldn't be trusted with that?