Speaking of re-running referendums…

 

 

First up I’m not in favour of running referendums in less than 5 to 10 years. We’ve suffered in this state twice with such processes and it is one of the reasons I’m so euro-critiical at this point. That said the ambiguity of the Leave campaign might be such that a referendum would be justified on whether the outcome of negotiations following the two year period were acceptable to the British people. But such a situation could – I feel – only be in regard to accepting a change in the current status quo, in other words framed by Brexit, and only over the nature of the Exit. Ten, fifteen years down the line time would have passed and it would be acceptable to run an in or out referendum.

Still, here’s one character who was an unlikely proponent of a second referendum. Step forward. Nigel Farage! On 16th May he argued in the Mirror:

The Ukip leader said a small defeat for his leave camp would be “unfinished business” and predicted pressure would grow for a re-run of the 23 June ballot.

Farage told the Mirror: “In a 52-48 referendum this would be unfinished business by a long way. If the remain campaign win two-thirds to one-third that ends it.”

The threat by a veteran of the Europhobic struggle to pull Britain out of the European Union illustrates why David Cameron is desperate for a decisive result to avoid “neverendum” uncertainty in the country and Tory ranks.

To which one can only say, be careful what you wish for.