I’m sick of being told, “You lost, get over
it, move on!” or “You’re a sore loser!” This isn’t a game of football, and I
for one will not shut up and move on. There's far too much at stake, and we
know without doubt that if the boot was on the other foot, the Leavers would be
kicking up a fuss and saying that it wasn't over. Farage said as much himself
that if it was a 52-48 in Remain’s favour that it would be “unfinished
business”, and he was whining about the extended registration period when he
thought he was going to lose just after the polls closed. It’s also amusing to
see the man who started that petition for a rerun was apparently a Leave voter
from the English Democrats who is now trying to say it shouldn’t be allowed even
though it meets his criteria of turnout and margin! It’s by-the-by anyway, as I
don’t think we should rerun the vote straight away, if ever. It just looks like
we are undemocratic and childish if we keep pressing for it. We can’t blame
anyone for voting Leave. They had legitimate reasons based on what they believed
and what they’d been told. No, leave it for the people who are to blame for
this whole mess – the politicians - to take the heat if they decide to fudge
things or kick the issue into the long grass.
Even so, the minority (by 4% it should be
remembered) should not be ignored, and I don't think we will be, as they
rightly wouldn’t if it was the other way round. The politicians aren't
completely stupid. They know it would be political suicide. If we keep making
our voices heard, I'm hopeful they can come up with some kind of compromise to
try and keep a bigger majority happy, like some kind of Norway / half-in, half-out
deal. Maybe a second but differently framed referendum might happen in the
long-term, learning the lessons of this first one, making it legally binding if
it meets certain criteria and maybe having multiple options rather than IN or
OUT. It’s not a binary / black-and-white issue for me…I’m just thinking aloud
now!
People are also talking about the need for
unity and moving forward together to make it work. Well, we need to unify, I
can’t disagree there. There is a major schism in the country, even if the
Leavers voted on a plethora of reasons. What we can surely agree on is the fact
that the political class and establishment have lied and screwed us all over.
The Leavers and their media lied about what they could do in terms immigration
and extra money for the NHS while the Remainers exaggerated the wrong things
and failed to address the issues that really concerned people, unable to admit
that the government’s austerity programme has contributed to overstretched
public services.
Still, what is becoming crystal clear is that
there is no unified plan for Brexit. It was a coalition of disparate factions and
no one seems to be ready to take the reins…or take control as they were so
desperate to do. We’re in a driverless car heading over a cliff and they’re all
looking at each other and contradicting each other as well as backtracking on
the promises they made about NHS funding and immigration. It’s as if they
didn’t have a plan other than to make a play for the leadership of the party…
Whatever. They’ve made their bed and in they need to lie. They need to do
something…tell us their plan, bring about some stability and fill the void that
could be exploited by extremists if we’re not careful.
So, yes we lost and we will get over it*, but
let’s turn it round now: You won, now get on with it!
*eventually ;)
