Lefty
Well-known member
That is too simplistic a question because there are multiple variables that have changed things that I couldn't foresee at the time. But that doesn't mean that it was wrong to vote Leave. If you are asking:
1. Could Brexit have been successful if everyone had acted in good faith, then yes it could have been.
2. Do I think the government have done well in their implementation of Brexit? Then no, but they have been constrained by the remainer majority in Parliament.
3. Do I think remainers are the stupid ones because by refusing to acknowledge that the country voted for Brexit and doing their utmost to stop it they have forced the government to do the only thing they could get to over the line which resulted in a hard brexit, the last thing that remainers would have wanted, and another 5 years of Tory rule, then yes.
4. Did I ever expect us to be in a worse position after voting for Brexit? Then yes, it was evident that there would be short-term downsides but in the long term there would be no major difference between being in the EU and being outside of it economically.
5. Have my reasons for voting Brexit changed? No.
All of the negatives of Brexit could easily have been mitigated by co-operation. Firstly our own politicians putting aside their differences and doing what the country had decided, the biggest being stop talking about remain being an option and think of the best way to leave. Secondly, co-operation with the EU. Be clear and spell out the default position as something to avoid, but still a legitimate option. Lay down the baseline relationship and build from there as if we were a 3rd nation. The way round we approached it was farcical and it left the EU in total control.
Mike, you're answering a load of questions I haven't asked. They aren't bad points, but we are nowhere near that stage yet.
At the moment I'm just trying to find three or four Leave voters who, in denying they weren't stupid, are prepared to scrutinise their own reasoning and be courageous enough to allow others to put them under scrutiny too.
I'm putting myself up there to be shot at.
We haven't even defined 'stupid' yet, so it's premature for you to state that you aren't it, don't you think?