This EU Won't Work

How language is twisted to falsely support the case for not leaving the EU

What Do We Want?

On BBC Radio’s Today show (13th August 2019) ex-Chancellor Philip Hammond once again stated that the public didn’t vote to leave the EU without a deal. That’s true but neither did they vote against that because they weren’t asked, it is therefore a deliberate deceit. Hammond has re-written the question for his own private referendum and has decided on behalf of the rest of us.

Hammond seems to be suggesting that, had they been asked, a majority would have insisted on leaving with a deal and would never have countenanced simply leaving. However the question they were asked was simple: Remain or Leave? Naturally the Government and MPs were expected to get the best terms they could but thanks to the incompetence of the Executive, of which Hammond was a very senior member, the deal offered by the EU, which it is sticking by, is worse than remaining a member.

A Government of Notional Unity

Jeremy Corbyn has just written to MPs who oppose leaving the EU on 31st October offering himself as interim Prime Minister to extend Article 50 and give time for a General Election in which his party will campaign for another referendum. In it he writes that “the 2016 EU referendum provided no mandate for no deal“. It provided a mandate to leave, not to keep asking the same question or, more likely, providing a different choice.

Perhaps if given another vote between the deal that the EU refuses to re-open and remaining a member voters would choose the latter option. That would be equivalent to saying we don’t like what you decided so we’re giving you the choice between two options you won’t like, which do you think is worse? That would pass for democracy by EU standards.

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party wants a Government of Female Remainers to unify the nation. That would exclude most MPs and ignore the decision of most voters. She was rightly criticised but not for excluding the vast majority – all her nominees were white women for heavens sake!

Remaining Truth

A Remain-supporting MP (we didn’t catch her name) was interviewed on LBC Radio on Saturday morning, 17th August. She said the 2016 Referendum vote was not decisive—it wasn’t decisive, it was decided. She agreed that 52% had voted to leave the EU but said the people had told their elected representatives to “Go away and get a deal” – no they didn’t, they said “Go away and get us out of the EU.” Then she said the idea of a Government of National Unity was to represent the views of all the factions in Parliament – no it isn’t, leave supporters haven’t been invited.

What is most reprehensible is that all elected Tory representatives agreed to an explicit promise to leave the EU, the CU, the SM and the jurisdiction of the ECJ; they should ask their constituents’ permission to alter that promise, not by agreeing a deal that includes any of the above.

Labour representatives also promised to leave the EU but were vague about leaving any of its institutions. Its voters were promised their decision would be ‘respected’ – they were conned into thinking that meant ‘enacted’.