Brake: Major is right on Brexit

So, John Major is the latest figure to suggest that a referendum on the Brexit deal might not be a bad idea. 

While he did not enjoy being “out of step” with his party, the stakes were so high than he felt obliged to speak out at such a crucial moment in the negotiations.

“Leaving Europe is an issue so far-reaching, so permanent, so over-arching that it will have an impact on all our lives – most especially on the young and the future,” he said.

“With only 12 months to go, we need answers, not aspirations.”

While he was not actively calling for a further referendum, he said the “option” must remain open to a “sovereign” Parliament to insist upon.

It will not be a surprise that Tom Brake our Brexit spokesperson thinks he’s right:

John Major is right, the deal must go back to the people.

This is the biggest issue facing the nation in over half a century. This deal will define our future. We have one chance to get this right and yet Theresa May is fighting to keep the final say in the hands of her inner circle.

Theresa May must put her trust in the public. Whatever deal she comes back with, the people must be given a voice. The UK must have a chance to exit from Brexit.

Surely it must hold some sway with people that two former Prime Ministers, Major and Blair, are so opposed to Brexit.

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5 Comments

  • This hardly surprising. Major is after all the PM who signed Britain up to the EU in the first in first place. Apart from anything else, his political legacy is under threat. Nice, chap, though.

  • Lorenzo Cherin 28th Feb '18 - 11:12pm

    The channel four news interview with Sir John Major today revealed not just the decent man we often see, but a feeling man, who cares greatly for this project.

    He is very persuasive because he is totally open, no politics, but honesty.

    I like and admire him for that.

  • Antony Watts 1st Mar '18 - 12:47pm

    At last a Stop Brexit champion. Pity he’s a conservative, we need a triumphant LIb Dem voice – who will it be?

    But nice to see Lib Dem voice more dedicated to the biggest issue, Stop Brexit. Let’s get tougher about it.

  • Nick Collins 1st Mar '18 - 1:22pm

    I’m guessing that you’re not a cricket fan, Lorenzo, (or is that prejudice on my part?), but if you ever want to understand the origins and early history of the game, you could do a lot worse than read John Major’s excellent book ,” More than A Game”.

    I love the story that on the day following the 1997 General Election, after visiting the Queen to formally relinquish the position of Prime Minister, he next went to Lord’s to watch the cricket: a man with a sense of proportion.

  • John Marriott 1st Mar '18 - 8:44pm

    I’ve got a lot of time for Sir John. With his trusty soapbox he almost singlehandedly defied the odds by delivering victory to the Tories in the 1992 General Election. Mind you, he was helped by that Labour Rally in Sheffield and the fear of a Labour ‘tax bombshell’. And how was he rewarded for his troubles? By the likes of Cash and Duncan Smith and all the other Maastricht ‘b******s’. Not the grey pea eating character pictured on ‘Spitting Image’ either.

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