Twittering
More Brexit.
I had a discussion with my MSP on Twitter last night. Alex (Lib. Dem.) retweeted his party leader. The discussion went as follows:
My direct message to @angelaeagle. What will you do that is different to @jeremycorbyn on Europe? pic.twitter.com/ffIjb61O3I — Tim Farron (@timfarron) July 9, 2016
@timfarron @agcolehamilton for a party keen on PR you’re very keen to overturn the result. What price democracy? (Remain voter here btw) — Ian Burdon (@Cosmic_Serf)
@Cosmic_Serf @timfarron asking for a mandate at a General Election on platform of Brexit reversal or EU reentry is no affront to democracy. — Alex Cole-Hamilton
@agcolehamilton @timfarron the people spoke. Don’t like what they said, but they did. HoC authorised the Refm. Has to live with consequence — Ian Burdon
@Cosmic_Serf @timfarron democracy about choice- not giving up, electorate changes govt every few yrs, we’ll fight Brexit and win em over. — Alex Cole-Hamilton
@agcolehamilton @timfarron Tories fought last election with Referendum in manifesto. Won election. Held Referendum. It sucks, but its valid. — Ian Burdon
@agcolehamilton @timfarron In 2014 I expected the 45% to accept result. Apply same standard to myself in the 48% — Ian Burdon
@Cosmic_Serf @timfarron if they’d reintroduced death penalty on same terms, should my party acquiesce & not fight next election to abolish? — Alex Cole-Hamilton
@agcolehamilton @timfarron whataboutery is no argument — Ian Burdon
@Cosmic_Serf @timfarron if lib dems accepted and gave up after every poor result, there wouldn’t be any lib dems. — Alex Cole-Hamilton
What troubles me about the Lib Dem position is the underlying assumption that the result of the referendum is something to be overturned by people who know better, blithely discounting the expressed votes of those who voted Leave. That is exactly the sort of attitude that, it appears, many Leave voters reacted against, and seems to me to be profoundly anti-democratic.
We can discuss until the cows come home whether referendums are themselves flawed instruments (I think they are), but we had one, and having had one we should think long and hard before dismissing the result, and the views of our fellow-citizens, simply because we disagree with them.
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