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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 09:22 AM Jan 2019

Theresa May: Brexit deal rejection risks democratic 'catastrophe'

Source: Politico-Europe


The UK prime minister told MPs it was time to ‘forget the games and do what is right.’

By JAMES RANDERSON 1/13/19, 10:32 AM CET Updated 1/13/19, 11:08 AM CET

Not following through with Brexit would be "catastrophic" for U.K. democracy, said Prime Minister Theresa May in an eleventh hour appeal to members of parliament to back her deal in a key vote Tuesday.

Writing in the Express, May said MPs had a duty to deliver on the referendum outcome. Addressing voters, she said that "when you turned out to vote in the referendum, you did so because you wanted your voice to be heard. Some of you put your trust in the political process for the first time in decades. We cannot — and must not — let you down."

"Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy. So my message to parliament this weekend is simple: It is time to forget the games and do what is right for our country," she added.

The prime minister said the deal she negotiated with Brussels in November delivers on the referendum result by restoring control over money, laws, borders and trade policy — repeating arguments she has made in speeches, articles, interviews and House of Commons appearances.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/theresa-may-brexit-deal-rejection-risks-democratic-catastrophe/

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RAB910

(3,539 posts)
1. Seeing how the voting results were tainted by Russian interference
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 09:23 AM
Jan 2019

Going through with the exit would be the undemocratic thing to do

InAbLuEsTaTe

(24,125 posts)
4. Precisely, Putin & Dotard, his henchman, cannot be allowed to win... Brexit must be stopped!!
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 09:33 AM
Jan 2019

Vote Trexit instead... impeach 45!!

 

DRoseDARs

(6,810 posts)
13. And. She. Knows. This. That's what makes her comments all the more unseemly.
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 02:01 PM
Jan 2019

Makes one wonder how much Russian money SHE or her party has received.

no_hypocrisy

(46,311 posts)
2. "Democratic catastrophe"?
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 09:31 AM
Jan 2019

Seems to me it would be enhancing democracy by having another vote. Or another two referendums (two out of three wins).

saidsimplesimon

(7,888 posts)
3. What games, Mrs. May?
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 09:33 AM
Jan 2019

From what I read, there is considerable regret by many who voted for Brexit. The only winner may be Putin and Russian goals to hobble or destroy western democracy, while making a nice profit on the deal. imo

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
5. And Brexit is certain catastrophe
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 10:06 AM
Jan 2019

So there you are.

When the Irish border closes, all hell is going to break loose.

marlakay

(11,536 posts)
10. Can you please explain this?
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 01:25 PM
Jan 2019

I am spending next summer in Ireland and plan to visit the north by train also.

 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
11. Ireland is in the EU
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 01:43 PM
Jan 2019

If the UK is not in the EU, then the border becomes an external border of the EU. That’s going to require a significantly different arrangement than the Anglo-Irish understanding for decades.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_border_question

Algernon Moncrieff

(5,798 posts)
12. Of course, there is another solution
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 01:54 PM
Jan 2019

Great Britain could reunite Ireland. It doesn't have to be an overnight process, but they could not build a hard border with the clear understanding that Ireland will be united (after a transition process) in - pick a number - 5/10/15 years.

yardwork

(61,785 posts)
6. Brexit would be an economic catastrophe for England.
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 10:34 AM
Jan 2019

(Britain as we know it wouldn't last long after Brexit.)

Lonestarblue

(10,159 posts)
7. May needs to stop being an obstructionist and call another referendum.
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 10:42 AM
Jan 2019

Now that citizens understand that their country will go backwards economically if Brexit goes through and the EU will not allow them to have all their current trade benefits without being a member, a majority of voters are likely to support staying in the EU. Problem solved.

ToxMarz

(2,169 posts)
8. Sounds like demagoguery
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 10:52 AM
Jan 2019

Referendums are not legally binding, so legally the Government can ignore the results; for example, even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum were a majority of "No" for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway, because parliament is sovereign.

 

Pantagruel

(2,580 posts)
14. Brexit vote was influenced
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 02:34 PM
Jan 2019

by lies, willful exaggerations and Russian interference, not unlike Trump's election. Difference is Brexit does not need to be binding, there's room to do it right before any further damage.

pampango

(24,692 posts)
15. The lack of a second referendum, now that the complications of a real Brexit are known, would be
Sun Jan 13, 2019, 06:17 PM
Jan 2019

a 'democratic catastrophe'. If British voters confirm a Brexit preference in a second referendum, so be it. If they recognize the problems caused by Brexit and change their minds, so be it.

Denzil_DC

(7,288 posts)
18. She's writing in the Express - a rabidly pro-Brexit newspaper.
Mon Jan 14, 2019, 03:33 AM
Jan 2019

It really is vile, basically UKIP's house paper.

It's an odd outlet for May to choose to publish an appeal to those MPs she needs to win over, and smacks of desperation.

May's deal is highly unlikely to be a hard enough Brexit for Express readers. They're more likely to back no deal. Here's her plea:

But if Parliament does not come together and back this deal in our national interest we risk leaving with no deal, with all the uncertainty for jobs and security that will bring.

Or, with MPs unwilling to face the uncertainty of no deal and with no other offer on the table, we will risk not leaving the European Union at all.


On the same day, the Express published Farage predicting May'll lose the vote by "a massive margin" and freaking out at the prospect of a Brexit extension rather than his favored no deal and resort to WTO trade terms.

It also published an article titled "Theresa May will be 'smashed to smithereens' in Tuesday’s meaningful vote". The "smashed to smithereens" quote is from an anonymous Tory MP, coupled with much saber-rattling from the usual prominent no deal Brexiteers in Parliament.

So something there for everybody.
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