The BBC have just called in for leave. This is a really historic decision. The turnout was huge. We’ll have to respect the decision and move on. Thoughts?
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
What next for Councillor remuneration? (Michal Siewniak)
Fewer committees, more diversity – why I’m backing F10 (Victoria Collins MP)
Tom Arms’ World Review (Tom Arms)
Observations of an Ex Pat : Development Bonds (Tom Arms)
ALDC’s By-Election report – 13 March 2025 (Matthew Ma)
What happens after a party wins a landslide? - The Week in Polls
Today's Bells on Sunday
Polperro Fisherman's choir singing "Will your anchor hold?"
Divine Comedy: I've Been to a Marvellous Party
Lochee Park - 1973 #dundeewestend
Urgent action needed on Welsh rivers
Llandow, 1950: The worst air disaster the world had seen
Electoral Calculus's local election predictions
Reform voters split on whether they'd be better off without Nigel Farage
Are memories like a row of telegraph poles?
Craig Levene 
Mohammed Amin 
Mike Peters 
John Waller 
Simon R 
7 Comments
Oh dear. We’ll be dissecting Stronger In for years. For our party, we’ll have to decide whether to respect such a narrow majority or seek to find a mandate to re-engage. But sleep and breakfast come first.
Don’t agree with this “having to respect the result.” When the result is because of lies, petty nationalism and neo-racism, rather than any proper political discussion, then you can’t and shouldn’t respect it.
Too angry to comment!!!!!
@keith legg
You say you don’t respect the result. Not respecting the result is not respecting the voters. If you want to know why your side lost its because many on the remain side didn’t respect the voters
BBC coverage of this referendum has been appalling. Dimbleby was boring and useless. John Mann (with whom I disagreed with on virtually everything else) got it right when he queried how the BBC had not called the result hours previously. It was quite clear from ‘types’ of seats where the result was heading – to precisely where I believed it would be heading for a week or so. Without the untimely death of Jo Cox the Brexit majority, sadly, would very likely have been another million more. 🙁
I respect the decision made by voters. They told us that the country is split down the middle and that there is no consensus for change (or for not changing of course). On something that is so important, not just for our country but for humanity as a whole, it would be criminal if we just sat back and allowed the Brexiteers to claim victory without a clearer mandate.
Depends what we mean by “move on”. There should certainly be a review of our Liberal Democrat campaign: Stronger In is one we didn’t and won’t control. I do not favour the new referendum petition: the result was clear if close, the turnout was high and the rules were set at the start. To change them now would look dishonest. Besides, there is talk of a snap election. This needs a 2/3 vote in the Commons, but if Labour can get their house just a little in order, it would be difficult for them not to support the motion: if they didn’t they would look scared and would never be allowed to forget it. Tim is absolutely right to stress that the issue is not closed forever and that we will fight on rejoining the EU. So what happens if there’s a snap election and pro-EU forces are left in the majority? THEN a second referendum would make sense.
In the meantime, there is plenty for us and all remotely Liberal forces to do fighting to get as much as possible of beneficial EU legislation passed into UK or national law. But what about Scotland? The Scottish Liberal Democrats have clearly been pro-Devo-max, anti-independence and pro-EU. Where does that leave them in the likely event of a second independence referendum based on leaving the UK to stay in or rejoin the EU?