An open letter to leavers

[LoveInTokyo]

Dear Leavers

I’m sorry that David Cameron offered us a referendum and promised to respect the outcome, whatever it was.

Unfortunately, he was fucking with you.

He promised that referendum when he didn’t think he stood a cat’s chance in hell of getting a majority, and never thought he’d actually have to deliver on it. When he got his surprise majority, he made a big show of going to Brussels and pretending to negotiate with the EU to get us a “better deal”. Unfortunately, he already knew perfectly well that the UK already had a better deal than any other country in the EU, and that they were not going to bend over backwards to get us to stay. So he made a big show of negotiating and then tried to pretend that he had done something meaningful. He then went through the motions of holding a referendum, half-heartedly campaigning to remain. He did absolutely no contingency planning, partly because he never believed that leave would actually win, and partly because he already knew that he had no intention of staying to deal with the fallout if they did. That’s why he resigned the day after the referendum and waltzed off, whistling a merry tune.

He played a high risk game of poker with our money, and lost.

I understand that many of you feel defensive about your decision and dislike being labelled “thick” by angry remainers. As a remainer myself, I feel saddened and frustrated that none of you seem able to articulate any benefits that will actually come out of Brexit. But at this stage, I would quite happily accept that there will be no benefits, and settle for damage limitation. Unfortunately none of you seem able to explain how we limit the damage either.

We cannot leave the single market and customs union without there being a hard border in Ireland, which will put people’s lives at risk. We cannot leave the single market and customs union without severely damaging most sectors of the economy, which would cause untold hardship for millions of people living in the UK. I realise that remaining in the single market and customs union would make leaving the EU pointless, but it is the only way to limit the damage.

The government has made almost no progress towards getting a workable deal in place, and time is running out. We don’t have the infrastructure in place to ensure that supply chains of essential food and medicine will not be disrupted after Brexit day. We don’t have a plan to ensure that planes will still be able to take off and land, or that satnav will still work. We do not have any trade deals lined up. We simply do not have time to do any of these things.

Dear leavers, you do not have solutions to any of these problems, and more importantly, neither do Theresa May, Boris Johnson, David Davis, Liam Fox, Nigel Farage, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Andrea Leadsom, Daniel Hannan, Jeremy Corbyn, Kate Hoey or any of the people who claim to think Brexit is the right choice for the UK.

A no-deal Brexit is unthinkable. It is not an option.

I realise that many of you will feel betrayed if we do not get the kind of Brexit you want. But to be honest, you’re going to feel betrayed even if you do get the kind of Brexit you want, because it will be unimaginably shit. This is not "project fear", it is "project reality".

The government has a duty to act in the best interests of the country as a whole. It’s not good enough to lay the blame at David Cameron’s door and say he held the referendum so we have to respect the vote. David Cameron has been out of office for two years. It is now plainer than ever that leaving the EU is a terrible idea, and there is still time to put the brakes on and not go through with it. If the government goes through with this when they could put a stop to it, they cannot continue to blame David Cameron and claim that their hands were tied. They are not.

It is time for Theresa May to do the decent thing and say, “I’m sorry, I know it’s what the people voted for, but it simply can’t be done without causing a totally unacceptable amount of harm to the country. And I have a duty of care towards everyone, not just the 51.8% who voted leave.”

Please Walkingdeadfangirl explain to me simply and succinctly what the jeff you mean by this pile of claptrap: 'You do not believe the UK should be sovereign then?'

I'm going to keep saying this. "We" didn't vote to end freedom of movement. You may have done, but it was not specified what form of leave you were voting on.

It’s erm, interesting to hear remain voters talk about the legitimacy and shelf life of the June 2016 vote when what they prefer is to rely on a result from 1975! Interesting too that so many are so keen to insist that we can change our minds now, but didn’t articulate such sentiment before 2016.

falcon5 leaving the EU, means the end of FOM as it stands

Not if you voted to leave for a Norway model.

It is interesting people talking about the 1975 referendum, I wonder if those that voted yes then remember much about it wrt the media coverage , which political parties and other organisations supported staying in the common market ?

I only read the first and last page, so apologies if this has been said before, but in the words of cowardly Cameron- do shut up dear.

I only read the first and last page, so apologies if this has been said before, but in the words of cowardly Cameron- do shut up dear

Is that meant to be funny?

It wasn't. It just makes you sound like a twat.

Incisive analysis there coco.

One of the silvering linings of Brexit is knowing Farage & Hanaan will be out of a job.

Losing IndyRef united Scotland. Winning Brexit will divide Britain for a decade to come (at least). Funny world we live in.

Losing IndyRef united Scotland

Now, THAT is funny.

I am pretty sure that the Mail supported the Yes vote in 1975.

And the Mail supported the Nazis in the 1930s

Which shows that either the Mail has now reverted to type, or that they write a load of drivel anyway.

The majority in 1975 was far greater too !

If we want to sell anything, anything, into the EU, we will have to abide by its regulations red tape. That's fine, that is a choice we can make. But the other 95% of business that dont sell to the EU will be free to NOT get tied up in expensive EU red tape regulations.

Your faith in our politicians is rather touching
I have very little faith in politicians, I have faith in the voters to select the MPs that will enact the 'red tape' they want. Something UK MEPs do not have the power to do.

The vote, the only nationwide plebiscite to be held in the UK during the 20th century, was of constitutional significance. Referendums had been widely opposed in the past, on the grounds that they violated the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.

Saw this and chuckled, so 'the will of the people' is a blow against sovereignty

Fangirl are you suggesting that all the other countries that we have trade deals with as part of being a member of the EU ( think it is about 60 but could be wrong) who we will no longer have trade deals with should we 'no deal' exit, there is going to be absolutely no red tape, admin, regulations in the shiny new trade deals ?

95% that don't sell to the EU can I politely ask "are you fucking joking?".

Only 5% exporters export to the EU.

Oh if only I could live in Brexit world. The sun is shining, the grass is green and the unicorns shit rainbows.

Yes referendums are a feature of direct democracy the sovereign will of parliament is a feature of representative democracy. The U.K. is not a direct democracy.

So binding referenda are unconstitutional. Parliament must make the final decision as it is a key part of our constitution that parliament can not be bound even by previous parliamentary decisions.

I don't particularly think this is a good thing but in the U.K. under the constitution so beloved of Brexit supporters referenda - the will of the people - is in no way binding.

I am amazed how consistently Brexit supporters have very little understanding of the British constitution.

"95% of business that dont sell to the EU will be free to NOT get tied up in expensive EU red tape"

That kind of statement makes me nervous, b/c I don't think it's calculated correctly.

I doesn't mention imports or supply chains. Eg., UK has to import all steel. Most from EU. If a product has any steel in it, the affected supply chain is global / EU. If your business depends on consumers whose income is dependent on steel imports - then you're dependent on those imports, too. Similar stories about lycra, or cotton or many foods & a million other products. Modern supply chains are incredibly complicated. Not being able to easily get hold of large range of imported stuff very easily is a HuGE big deal that affects every manufacturer, even ones who think they never sell directly outside UK.

lljkk coming on here with your pesky facts , honestly , who do you think you are , you unicorn denier

frumpety "are you suggesting ... there is going to be absolutely no red tape..."

No I am saying that UK businesses that dont sell to the EU shouldn't have to follow EU regulations?

Moussemoose - What part am I joking about?
"Depending on which you use, probably between around 5% and 8% of businesses export to the EU"

Moussemoose so Parliament can actually ignore referendum what with them being Sovereign ? So the 1975 referendum had a majority of 34% , the 2016 referendum a majority of , remind me what was the majority ?
So unless the vote out votes the initial vote with a greater majority , then really Parliament could just decide to act in the best interests of the 74% of the population ?

So we follow the regulations of the other 60 countries then Fangirl , which we have absolutely no say in , unlike the EU regulations which we voted for ?