Jo takes a step too far

When Jo Swinson, leader of the LibDems, announced that should they win the next election they would cancel Brexit without even the recourse to a second referendum, I felt she made a serious error.

The LibDems have made major strides in recent months, constituting as they do one of the major bulwarks against the arch-right-wingers of the Brexit party. Many people voted for them rather than their usual fall-back position of Labour or Tory because of their ambiguous posture on Brexit. And they would, I believe, have made a terrific showing in the next election on that strength alone. Now, though, I’m not so sure.

I wish we’d never held a referendum in the first place. I wish David Cameron had held out against the Brexiteer ‘bastards’ in his own party in the same way as John Major did - basically by telling them to go and fuck themselves. But he didn’t, and 17 million people, 52% of the voters, voted leave. Certainly I would like to see a second vote- what’s wrong with testing public opinion again after a 3-4 year gap in a decision as important as this? But defying the wishes of those 17 million people altogether, ignoring them in fact, could have terrible consequences, for the nation, which might see not only the worst civil disorder this country has seen since the Civil War should such a thing come to pass, but to the LibDems themselves for even suggesting such a thing.

I foresee a dramatic downturn in their fortunes now because of it. Change your mind on this one, Jo, and do it quick, before you run your party onto the rocks.