London Banter - View Single Post

Recliner[_3_] · February 1st 17, 12:15 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On Wed, 1 Feb 2017 12:36:24 +0000, Neil Williams
wrote:

On 2017-02-01 11:07:29 +0000, d said:

I'm getting a bit tired of this argument. It was a MINORITY of those who
bothered to vote who voted remain. So what? Given how easy it was to vote
then its pretty clear people who didn't bothered didn't give a damn one way
or the other so their opinions - if they even have one - are irrelevant.

I agree; it is not possible to consider abstention as anything other
than either "don't care" or "do not wish to engage", in either case it
signifies indifference to the outcome.

What does the aspect matter, its in or out, there's no halfway house as
brussels has made clear.

EEA and EFTA membership will be an option (they are not "membership of
the EU"), and at least some Brexiters will have preferred that. It
would only take 4.00000001% of the overall vote to have voted "out" but
preferred one of those for there to be no mandate for total withdrawal.

For that reason, I think the referendum should have had two questions:-

1. Do you wish the UK to leave the EU or remain in it on the same basis
as it is currently a member?

2. If the outcome of the first question is to leave the EU, would you
prefer (a) to withdraw completely, (b) to remain in the European
Economic Area, (c) to remain in the European Free Trade Area?

Now it might have been Leave and (a) - there's a fair chance it would
have been. But at least what was happening would have a clear mandate.

I think that question is far too erudite for the largely apolitical UK
electorate, many of whom barely knew a referendum was happening at
all. And the many who just wanted fewer immigrants wouldn't have known
which of the three 'Leave' options they preferred.