Thursday 7 July 2016

Leave it out - I never said that


This is from the official leave campaign website, campaign resources for the public to download.

It's even more explicit than the slogan on the side of the bus.

We know also that the intention was always to mislead people.

No Irony from Hannan as he tells us taking back control means doing what he tells us

Similar articles have been appearing in many places, after 40 years of not accepting the result of the 1976 referendum, Leave campaigners now tell us that people supporting remain should shut up and accept the result.

http://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2016/07/daniel-hannan-instead-of-tantrums-remainers-should-accept-the-result-and-work-for-a-better-future.html

There are two main augments here, one the insinuation that seeking to overturn a result is not 'accepting' it and secondly that leave the EU means whatever the speaker wants it to means.

I do accept the result of the referendum, remain lost.  Let's be honest though,  I didn't get any say in how the referendum was conducted, what the question posed was or who led the debates on either side.  It is reported that George Osborne interventions were met with disbelief amongst the electorate.
Not surprisingly.  Similarly, many leave voters knew the leave campaign was telling lies, but at least they were "our liars".
As Mr Hannan himself has made clear, the remain campaign was based on "project fear", so what is his objection to another referendum where the debate can be based on project reality ?

There is nothing in the UK laws that prevent a second referendum on the leave terms offered. It would be inconvenient for the leave campaign and the Conservative Party to have another referendum, but that not actually a legal basis.  Referendums in the UK (unlike most countries) are called at the whim of the Prime Minister (assuming he can get most MPs to back him/her) . There is no mechanism for say 1 million ordinary electors to call a referendum.

Leave campaigners made great play of taking back control and Parliament be sovereign (i.e. having the final say)

Others seem to argue that somehow another referendum is 'unsporting', what if it goes the other way, will we have another referendum after that brought about by disgruntled leave campaigners ?  Well the answer is yes, that's the marvellous thing about democracy, one is allowed to change your mind.
The public supporter the Munich agreement in 1938, when it turned out not to be what it appeared, they supported war with Nazi Germany.

Wednesday 6 July 2016

Iraq and Blair and Chilcot

It is typical that a war that wasted lives and billions of £ beyond comprehension and was built on errors should be addressed by a report that has wasted time, millions and told us nothing worthwhile.

I can almost believe Tony Bair acted with the best motives, I find it harder to believe that he didn't seek to mislead anyone, what I  utterly disagree with is his assertion that it was worth it and he would do it all again.

The war in Iraq was a disaster from the start. The build up ignored the United Nations, the war itself destroyed Iraq so badly it has still not recovered and it unleashed death and destruction  across the region and terrorist attacks across the world.

Monday 4 July 2016

£12.6 billion Gamble

According to the Gambling Commission, Britons lost about £12.6 billion in the 12 months to September 2015, an increase of almost 12 per cent on the previous year.
That is almost £500 for every household in the land