High hopes as we enter the final negotiations over our withdrawal
The majority of us who voted to leave the EU do things the civilised way.
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We don’t cause civil unrest by protesting or making a nuisance of ourselves by harassing members of the public on the streets of the UK.
I have just received a response from HM Government regarding a petition “stop possible second referendum on EU membership”.
The first part of the government response as follows – A clear majority of the electorate voted to leave the European Union. We must respect both the will of the British people, and the democratic process which delivered this result.
The government is clear that we will respect the result of the 2016 referendum, and will not hold a second referendum.
A clear majority of the electorate voted to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Almost three quarters of the electorate took part in the referendum, resulting in 17.4 million votes to leave the European Union. This is the highest number of votes cast for anything in UK electoral history. This was the biggest democratic mandate for a course of action ever directed at any UK government
Parliament then overwhelmingly confirmed the result of the referendum by voting with clear and convincing majorities in both its houses for the (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. In last year’s general election over 80 per cent of people also voted for parties committing to respect the result of the referendum. It was a stated policy of both major parties that the decision of the people would be respected.
My only hope is now that we are entering final negotiations with our European friends is that the government keeps the United Kingdom united, no back stop, no border in the Irish Sea, no hard border between Ulster and the Republic. Also we want UK law and parliament to be sovereign, and not to be ruled over by the EU after withdrawal. Also we want our fishing rights back and not to be poached by our European neighbours. No free movement – only for the skills we need and not unskilled labour to drive wages down.
Finally we want to be free to trade with the rest of the world on mutual terms and that includes helping Africa to trade out of poverty instead of patronising handouts and charity.
Mark Norwood, Whittington
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