Double standard over Brexit ‘meaningful vote’ and a second EU referendum suggest democracy is dead
The hypocrisy of this: Apparently it is undemocratic to have a second EU referendum – but it is entirely democratic to force Parliament to vote again and again on Theresa May’s dud Brexit “deal” until she gets the result she wants.
That’s what Alex Wickham of Buzzfeed News reckons is the thinking in Downing Street, after Tory government leaders realised Mrs May is unlikely to win the “meaningful vote” on her deal, due to take place on January 15:
NEW: Theresa May's allies privately concede they are on course to lose the meaningful vote due 12 days from now. Senior Tories are gaming a second vote or another delay. Downing Street insider: “If we have to have the vote 30 times, we will" https://t.co/1VcGLtfnJl
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) January 3, 2019
Click on the article link for more details.
Lord Adonis, a major campaigner for a second referendum, was quick to identify the flaw:
‘If we have to have the vote 30 times we will,’ says No 10. But a second referendum is one too many! That argument will implode https://t.co/D2NMNj4WRK
— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) January 3, 2019
He’s right; we have been told time and time again that the country must not be allowed the chance to have another vote on this matter because an outcome in favour of remaining in the European Union would be an insult to democracy. Yet here we have Theresa May planning to insult democracy as many times as necessary, to force Parliament into accepting her deal due to fatigue, if nothing else.
The alternative, it seems, is another act of cowardice; she’ll withdraw the vote from Parliament again, denying MPs the ability to decide.
Lot of chatter in Westminster, where I am but without Parliament being allowed to sit, that Mrs May may pull her vote a second time before Jan 15. This gets into serious constitutional crisis territory
— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) January 3, 2019
It would indeed trigger a constitutional crisis. The government would again make itself guilty of contempt of Parliament, as Parliament had agreed that a “meaningful vote” approving the deal must happen, or the deal cannot go ahead. Refusing to allow such a vote would cast Mrs May into the role of dictator, at which point, even in today’s devalued and corrupt Parliament, she would find herself out of Downing Street pretty damned quick.
But these are the choices presented to us at the moment. Little wonder that ordinary people are drawing the logical conclusion:
Democracy is now dead in the UK, May says you can't have a 2nd referendum as it would be undemocratic, yet we'll put the meaningful vote to MPs as many as 30 times if we have to because that's the democratic thing to do, will the last person to leave please turn out the lights.
— Loz Argyle (@ArgyleLoz) January 3, 2019
If this is really the situation then it is unacceptable. I hope to see Mrs May forced to clarify her position on the day Parliament resumes sitting – either by the leader of the Opposition or (preferably) one of her own backbenchers.
She seems to think she can do whatever she wants and it is up to our elected representatives to put her straight.
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‘Refusing to allow such a vote would cast Mrs May into the role of dictator, at which point, even in today’s devalued and corrupt Parliament, she would find herself out of Downing Street pretty damned quick.’
Not so sure, Mike. Remember Ireland and Denmark where votes were held twice on EU treaties – until they got the ‘right’ result. Democracy has been out of the window for a long time and the EU itself suffers from a well known ‘democratic deficit’.
Polls show the Tory vote holding at about 38% which indicates one depressing thing: however incompetent the Tories become those people will vote for them because they fear change and they know , come what may,the Tories will defend financial interests.
I think the polls put the Tories so high because people believe what they read in the Tory-supporting newspapers and see on the Tory-supporting TV news.
Andrew Adonis sums up the disgraceful situation perfectly.
We had the second in out People’s vote in 2016, we are still waiting for the outcome to be enacted, so a third the elite losers vote is not needed, it would only be asking the question again with no difference in circumstances to the second vote.
What about the fact that we now know many, if not all, of the arguments put forward by the Leave campaigners were either lies or electoral fraud?
After knowing how Brexit will effect our economy we certainly do need a second vote…why do the leave voters want to be worse off it’s illogical ???
Surely, May is already a dictator over the corpse of UK democracy? All we have now is her trying to get a fig-leaf in the HoC to carry on the pretense of democracy. We need the people of the UK to see this for what it is. The PV idiots carry on with their campaign regardless, which plays into the hands of the dictator by appearing to allow dissent, at the expense of the truth.
The problem is that she is doing whatever she wants, no one is stopping her, why can’t she be stopped?
“will the last person to leave please turn out the lights.”
Surely that should read:
will the last person to leave please leave on all the lights, so we can find our way back to democracy from the darkness that is enveloping us.
And of course, the more fossil fuels we burn now, the sooner the demise of the human race, to the benefit of the few remaining fellow earthlings left that make it through the next two decades.
#6thmassextinction
Disappointed with this blog TBH.
It is NOT Labour Party’s Official Policy to call for a 2nd Referendum, and sick to death of reading about a so-called ‘Peoples Vote’.
I have also blocked Adonis and unfollowed Loz
That’s correct – it isn’t Labour’s policy to call for a second referendum. Are you trying to imply that I’m saying it is? Why would you do that?
If I might borrow that hackneyed cliche one more time today, this Brexit Shambles is the ‘Perfect Storm’: and we should be pleased we can all see clearer now.
We clearly see the underlying, default, bitter politics of deception and division distorted by the endless machinations of a hostile State towards its people. All washed up by the ‘accidental’ Brexit storm released from the murky depths of undeserving privilege with unbridled want of power and wealth that fostered greed and corruption on massive scales whilst countless thousands went without and died for want of basic need on UK streets. Stirred up now by restless winds from those that howl for change and carried forward on monumental waves of hypocrisy and deceit from all sides that break alarmingly on the edges of our perception. And this was all man-made!
In picking through the debris and detritus on this storm-lashed Brexit shore it has never been clearer to see there never was ‘democracy’. Participation by the people is a sham and always has been and our decrepit, hopeless system whereby we ‘suffer’ governance was never fit for people purpose but for centuries has simply been a framework to enable a privileged, controlling hierarchy to live very well on the backs of those oppressed.
I totally agree when a small % of the privileged can manipulate the majority and now when there gravy train is in jeopardy they run around like chickens with there heads cut off.