Tag Archives: second referendum

Words of warning on a Second Referendum

By Henry Wright | Mon 7th January 2019 - 8:12 am

I have been a member of the Liberal Democrats for nearly a year now and a supporter since about 2012. I respect the party’s decision to advocate a second referendum in order to give Britain the opportunity to remain. Since the PM came back with her deal, I’ve put a lot of thought into whether to personally support a second referendum or not and have concluded that as a party we are playing with fire, a fire that will catch to a tinder dry nation and isn’t something we’re going to be able to control. Even if you disagree with …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged brexit | 53 Comments

Vince Cable calls for an “adjudicator” in any Brexit deal referendum, plus votes for 16 and 17 year olds

By News Meerkat | Sat 25th August 2018 - 6:51 pm

.@VinceCable on the media round ahead of his speech to #PeoplesVoteNE pic.twitter.com/inw6LnmmrI

— Lib Dem Media Team (@LibDemPress) August 25, 2018

In a speech to the North East of England People’s Vote rally in Newcastle this afternoon, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable said:

Some say a People’s Vote would cause aggro, all the lies of 2016 would be repeated. We need to anticipate that. We need an adjudicator who can look at what campaigners say and fact check them properly.

Posted in News | Also tagged brexit and vince cable | 27 Comments

The dangers of the ‘people’s vote’

By Andrew Duff | Wed 8th August 2018 - 10:55 am

As the Chequers agreement and White Paper evince, the details of the interim package on offer are highly complicated. Submitting the terms and conditions of the Article 50 negotiations to a popular vote would be fraudulent. A referendum would be unlikely to elucidate the pros and cons of the Facilitated Customs Arrangement, the future of the City of London or the Irish backstop protocol. Rather, the hapless voter would face the same dilemma as vacillating parliamentarians – namely, a crude and invidious choice between the government’s Brexit deal and the cliff edge.

Ms. Miller & co make two gigantic misjudgments. The first is that, in the event of a referendum rejecting the Barnier package, the EU would be prepared to open up a new negotiation under Article 50 or to suspend Article 50 until the Brits sort themselves out. Having offered Cameron one new settlement for Britain in 2016 and May another in 2018, toleration of the British will be at an end. There will be no third negotiation. So what would be the referendum question? Moreover, on which side would Lib Dems be campaigning?

The second big mistake is to assume that the Remainers would ‘win’ the second referendum no matter the question. Opinion polls suggest that the outcome would be just as close as the first: certainly the assumption that Remain would win handsomely and settle the business of Britain’s place in Europe is an arrogant one, not supported by the facts.

Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged brexit | 102 Comments