This only has effect once an Article 50 TFEU notice is given. It is to be hoped that a reasonable breathing space is given before the Article 50 TFEU procedure commences.
In this respect it should be noted that the referendum is not binding, and the decision has to be made by the UK Government.
The majority for leave was slim 17,410,742 to leave, 16,141,241 to remain.
There are many reports of leave campaigners regretting their decision on the basis that "I didn't think it would happen and just wanted to kick the politicians".
There is a petition to the UK Government seeking a second referendum.
Such petitions are not binding, but it is noteworthy that, at the time of writing, there was around 2.4m signatories and the number is increasing at around 2000 signatories a minute.
On the fanciful hope that this rate of signature continued, by Friday there would be more signatures for a second referendum than votes for leave. For the current number of signatories, look here.
Regardless of whether this figure is reached, Parliament has a difficult decision ahead of them.
As a Londoner with an internationalist outlook, all I can do is hope that Parliament remembers they are a representative body, and not a body of delegates, and that they think hard before agreeing to an Article 50 TFEU notice.
The prospect of further fissiparous fucking off as Scotland, Northern Ireland and London decide their interests are not those of their fellow countrymen is just too dispiriting.
Not a lot above about statistics (other than counting signatures) or IP (but Brexit would have an effect).
I wouldn't call a majority of 1,269,501 "slim". There may well be some who voted to leave and now regret it. Firstly, that's just tough. The rules were clear, and the information on which to base a vote was widely available. Secondly, are there really over 600,000 of these people? The argument that we should reject the result just because we don't like it strikes me as deeply worrying, given that we supposedly live in a democracy. The EU has a habit of ignoring referenda, but I hope the UK government does not pick up this habit too.
ReplyDeleteAs for Scotland, I think we should let them go if they want to. They will soon find out how hard things will be when they have to comply with the rules on running deficits to join the EU.