Referendum result must be respected
WE THOUGHT it would be over by now but still the campaign goes on and on. I mean the range of plots by fanatical EU-Remainers to reverse the people’s decision on June 23.
One of these schemes is to claim the decision is valueless unless endorsed by the House of Commons. The tactic is plain. Cobble together an alliance of all the Scots Nats, Lib Dems, Labour and a fifth column of Tory rebels and you might just defeat the Government. In the law courts a hedge fund boss seeks to ask the judges to do the same. Confusion reigns.
It would help if someone of stature and authority could explain exactly what a referendum is. We think we know what it is but there seem to be varying types. We know we have had two national ones: in 1975 to ask if we wished to remain in the Common Market (we said yes) and last June to ask if we wished to leave the EU (we said yes again).
But we have had other regional and more local ones. There were two in Scotland: for devolution (an enthusiastic yes) and for independence (a definite no). There was one in Northern Ireland for the Good Friday Agreement (endorsed), one for the setting up of a Welsh Assembly (yes by a wafer-thin margin) and one for the creation of a mayoralty for London (yes).
THE most dramatic result was when John Prescott tried to break provincial England into eight EU regions. Only one region, the North-east, the most Labour-voting area in the country, was consulted. The presumption was they would agree with this Labour idea. Wrong. The motion was defeated 78 per cent against 22 per cent, the biggest margin of them all. None was over-ridden nor were any attempts made.
So how small need an area be to have a referendum? A county? A village? Then it becomes ludicrous. Does a referendum need endorsement by the Commons at all? (Never so far.) Can it be overturned by judges? (Never yet, and on what grounds?) So let’s go back into history.
We know the Ancient Greeks of Athens invented Demos Kratos – democracy. But back then all the citizens got to vote on every issue before the assembly. In a modern state that would not work.
We do not want to go to the polls every week. So we delegated democracy. We elect representatives called MPs once every five years and they are supposed to do the governing while carrying out our wishes – more or less. The Government governs but is held to account every day by the combined opposition. Until the next election. Very rarely do we revert to direct democracy.
But surely the direct democracy must reign supreme. One question, two alternative answers. The entire electorate voting by secret ballot. You cannot get more democratic than that. So would the Supreme Court do us a favour by saying so? Short of proven malpractice (ie, vote-rigging) the referendum reigns supreme.
Voting over and over until the verdict is what Mandy Mandelson wants to hear is the EU system of non-democracy. It is what we are trying to get away from. CAST a glance at our planet and the picture is not good. Russia has invaded Ukraine, shot down a Malaysian airliner and annexed Crimea. The city of Aleppo is being reduced (also with Russian help) to a charnel house of bodies and rubble.
Across swathes of the Middle East and Africa war and famine rule. Across Europe several major banks hover on the verge of collapse.
Across the Atlantic the main issue is whether an elderly boor fondled a buttock 20 years ago. Is that really the best Uncle Sam can do? Thank heavens, only 18 days more to go.
On a much more personal note I and several men I know who are now nudging 80 are praying the Ministry of Defence does not probe too deeply into those village hops we attended during National Service.
THE usual doom-sayers wail that the pound has fallen. But before the referendum it was hugely over-valued, giving us cheap holidays and imports but fiercely inhibiting our ability to sell our exports abroad. The upside of a cheaper pound is that tourists are pouring in to spend their foreign currency and our exports to them are now very affordable. There is a simple recourse for us: if you want to buy something, buy British.