A second vote on Brexit

The United Kingdom has been in a state of shock ever since its voters decided last June to pluck their country out of the European Union. But a fresh shock reverberated through the U.K. last week when British Prime Minister Theresa May called a general election for this June — three years before the next one was due and in complete contradiction to her earlier promise to keep governing until 2020.

The Brits were gobsmacked. May’s political opponents were stunned. Amid financial-market uncertainty, the British pound bounced around like a yo-yo.

But while U.K. voters will have an opportunity to hold May accountable for her broken pledge and to punish the Conservatives if they like, the prime minister’s decision — which was later endorsed by Parliament — is bold, wise and in the best interests of the country.

Besides being totally unexpected, last year’s razor-thin vote in favour of Brexit left the country confused, divided and very, very worried about the future.

Even now, no one knows how Brexit will change the lives of Britain’s 65 million citizens because no one knows what it actually means. The election can bring some order out of this chaos. In the coming campaign, May will have to explain in greater detail and with more clarity than ever before what her plan is.

The change being proposed for the U.K. is of monumental proportions. Decisions of this magnitude come once in a generation, if even that often.

A democratic vote got Britain into this mess. Another democratic vote should help it find the best way out.

Waterloo (Ont.) Region Record