Brexit briefing

I read the letter “Brexit imbroglio”(October 23) with interest, but found it to be an oversimplification. I believe your readers should be given further information to explain what is happening, beginning with the referendum.

I read at the time, that 40% of those eligible to vote in the referendum failed to do so. This is a large minority. So an accurate description of the result is that 52% of the 60% who voted, that is 31.2 % of the eligible voters voted to leave the EU and 28.8% voted to remain. The minority of the public who failed to vote outnumbers both groups. On this alone one cannot argue that the result truly represents “the will of the people” as some maintain.

Moreover, the results of the referendum tended to be regional in nature. Scotland as a region voted to remain, but Scotland is a nation within the UK, and as such its population is British. Since Scotland differs from England (however England’s votes were distributed), one cannot argue that the referendum result reflected the “will of the British people” as a whole.

While the parliamentary activity provides journalistic entertainment, one must remember that, in a democracy, members of a parliament are voted to represent their constituents, and that includes constituents who are in a minority. So those members of parliament who oppose Brexit are representing their constituents as much as those who support the move.

In a nutshell, the problems with Brexit are a result of a narrow difference between those for, those against, and others who want to see an orderly withdrawal.

ALBERT JACOB Beersheba