Author Archives: Kev Walsh

We already have a solution to the Brexit conundrum

By Kev Walsh | Fri 11th November 2016 - 2:15 pm

As a party we seem to be in a bit of a puzzled place at the moment with regards to Brexit now there’s a chance our MPs will have a vote on Article 50. Should we reject any attempts to invoke Article 50 and risk being labeled as anti-democratic – potentially putting many of our current MPs seats at risk? Should we put some red lines down in the hope of getting a decent “soft-Brexit” deal and drive away many thousands of new members? It really is a Catch 22 situation.

Or is it? Is there not an alternative that will allow us to vote against invoking Article 50 whilst allowing the Brexiters a real and fair chance of getting what they want? I believe there is. And we have been campaigning on it solidly for three decades!

Let’s be honest, referendums are the very worst form of democracy. They merely take a snapshot of a moment in time based on public feeling at a certain point and allow populism to run rough shot over evidence based, considered policy. More often than not they don’t give an answer to the actual question asked or provide solutions, they merely create more issues. This is exactly what happened in June.

Posted in News | Tagged brexit and proportional representation | 24 Comments

We are the 48 … but also the 52

By Kev Walsh | Sun 26th June 2016 - 5:16 pm

I don’t believe in a second referendum, but do believe we need to listen to the dissenting voices. What happened on Thursday was not a ‘landslide victory’ or even a mandate by any stretch of the imagination. But it WAS a big two fingers up at the established political system that we have here in the UK.

Many Leave people voted to get rid of David Cameron. Many voted to Leave because they were always going to vote against the government. Many people voted Leave because they were lied to about things like the NHS or that we would somehow stop immigration overnight. Some people voted because they really felt their lives would be better outside of the EU.

But people voted against the current form the EU has taken.

I do sincerely believe in Britain’s place in Europe – but a reformed Europe that allows more control for sovereign states on issues, less bureaucracy and more transparency.