Brexit madness getting worse

Fact: The Brexit referendum was advisory. The government or parliament is not legally obliged to implement the result.

Fact: If the referendum had been conducted over a weekend when more workers would have had time to vote the result could have gone the other way.

Fact: A Mandatory referendum might have produced a different result.

Fact: This referendum result cannot be claimed to be the will of the people. The 13 million who did not vote could have been quite happy for parliament to decide. They could even have been politically opposed to referendums.

Fact:The country is now in a political crisis caused by an ill thought out Brexit process.

Fact: Countries such as Australia make voting compulsory. At least four of the six states must approve a change otherwise the result of the referendum is not carried.For these reasons most referendums do not initiate change but no-one gets into a blind rage about it.

Fact: The government did not carry out a cost benefit analysis before the referendum and present the results to the people. The government is still not presenting the full results of post referendum analysis to the people or parliament for that matter. Parliament should have insisted that a Royal Commission was carried out, to make recommendations about the implications of leaving the EU before the referendum.

Fact:Political crises usually result in economic crisis.

Fact: The public are beginning to support remaining in in the EU as a result of the fear of a political and economic crisis. The fear will be exacerbated by future economic problems.

It is time for a re-think: any form of Brexit will weaken the UK economically, diplomatically, socially and legally because of a lack of planning and the lack of a cost benefit analysis. We have no idea of how we can benefit from Brexit.

It is apparent that, now, even Malta has more power to influence diplomatic events than the UK, by shear dint of it being a member of the EU. Ireland has shown that now it can punch above the weight of the UK on the world stage.

If we finally leave the EU completely in two years time, we risk losing free trade deals that cover around 65% of the world's economy. From a position of  much greater economic  strength the EU is negotiating with India, the US and China  to complete free trade coverage with most of the world's economies. We could be part of this and have an equal say in the final agreements. We risk losing all our free trade deals and then having to re-invent the trade scenario we have already got. This will take decades. We have no say in the US congress or the Indian parliament or in the congress of the PRC. We lose our say in the EU. Leaving the EU this way is economic stupidity at best. Do you really trust our government and parliament to negotiate better trade deals than the EU? Look at where parliament has lead us to.

Freedom of movement has played to our advantage. Britain has been able to tap upon resources that it could not supply for itself. The young people coming to the UK help to keep the NHS and Social Services running. They also support the Services and Construction industry.They help keep our high tech industries going. Not only do Europeans do this but young people from all over the world help keep our economy going . Why deny anyone the right to work in the UK?

Freedom of movement helps the exchange of cultural, scientific and engineering ideas to keep our country flourishing and competitive with other nations.

When we leave the EU Britain will become more divided. Northern Irish citizens will be able to obtain dual nationality by getting Irish passports. Their youth will be free to travel to the EU to get jobs; a facility which will denied to our young people from Manchester and Liverpool and Leeds if they cannot obtain dual nationality.

Hundreds of thousands of children who are born of EU parents will also be able to obtain dual nationality which will put our youth from Manchester and Liverpool etc. at further disadvantage.

Scotland voted to stay in the EU.Scotland will  see that Northern Ireland will gain advantage from remaining in the Single Market. Scotland will feel aggrieved and will probably leave the rest of the UK to join the EU.

The worst and most disappointing aspect of Brexit will be the way impoverished  leave voters have been treated in the past and the way they will be treated in the future. Leave voters did not have much choice; the only way most of them could get noticed was to protest in the referendum. They were treated badly not by the Eu but by their own government. These voters will suffer most from the reduced economic
opportunities, division and poorer social services which will result from Brexit.

Brexit is nonsense and it will lead to a poorer and more divided Britain. It will lead to a less influential Britain that is culturally more isolated.

Brexit should be stopped and it can be stopped. MPs should have the courage to stop this from happening. They can do this by creating alliances across the political parties to stop it in its tracks, they have the majority to do this. If they are too feeble to do this they should be able to have a majority to support remaining in the Single Market and Customs Union to mitigate the worse effects of Brexit.

Some Leavers will complain like mad. Most Remainers will silently cheer. Most of the people who did not vote will be relieved. Most of our young people will cheer aloud. There will be no violence on the streets.

Forget a new referendum. Parliament should have the courage to end the madness now.