I just read up that in the UK, referendums arw not legally binding meaning government is not bound to act on the results, is that true? That for Brexit, it was the government who chose to act on it not as a result of obligation?
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This could be true, but any politician who ignores the will of the people wonât be a politician at the next election
If it was the right question to ask, then the Referendum should have never been the end of the matter, especially one as close as it was.
The vagueness of the question then inevitably gave the impetus to more hardline elements to seize control of the process, arguing that their hard Brexit was what the public actually wanted.
That was always going to happen, and as much as the likes of @Kopstar made intelligent, compelling arguments for what Brexit could look like, it was always a fantasy because the reality was that it was idiots driving it.
True but also the idiots opposing it as well
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I think you and I differ on this point. There should have been no question asked. Because Cameron didnât even believe in the question. He called the referendum merely to shore up some back-benchers. Tories are so fucking good at leaving chaos in their wake to keep the party in power. They are nothing if not committed.
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But it was the question that needed to be asked as proven by the fact that leave won, they were being ignored for years , people who wanted to voice their opinions.
Again it comes down to the joke that we have as a parliament, but if our elected officials took into consideration over the years of what people were grumbling about on a national level it may have been addressed a lot earlier and stopped the toxic build up, instead they chose to ignore the issue for years, Blair promised a referendum but then backtracked.
And this is what in essence gave rise to Farage.
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I donât really mind âasking the questionâ.
I mind asking the question, after years of a concerted, deliberate misinformation campaign that left a large number of people basing their opinions on things that simply werenât true.
There isnât much I agree with Thatcher on, but I agree with her on this. Referendums are a stupid way to decide things.
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I agree with this BTW on the premise that surely you cannot be holding referendums for all things all the time when you have an elected government. But then this is where government cannot win at times. If they donât hold a referendum and make a decision as a small group of politicians, those who disagree with thst decision would call them, out of touch, corrupted etc⌠But if they decide to hold a referendum to hear the majority, then those who oppose such methods of decision making would call the government useless etc.
I never like the idea of holding votes every single time except when voting for your government of course but if a democratic system means everything goes every speech goes media has free play then surely a legal vote has to be respected whether you like the result or not.
Of course the resulting consequences can be debated as always
Gareth Edwards
we did it first
Are all those lazy arses still queing to see a wooden box?
Get back to work.
closet thatcherite
Ian Rush for me 
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Fair shout, but Gareth could do it all.
Good answer 
You know what broke me this week?
The fact thereâs a website, blogg or something that gives you minute by minute update on the queues.
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Rees Mogg logic.
Not at your desk because you are shielding due to Covid, concerned about the virus, or simply work more productively from home? Back to the office, you lazy bastard.
Not at your desk because you are queuing to see a wooden box containing the remains of someone you have never met and who likely wouldnât have pissed on you if you were on fire? You carry on doing your patriotic duty.
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I heard that cinemas are opening up for free to broadcast the funeral? First time ever? As in cinemas⌠FreeâŚ
Comparatively, we do all have royal status. Imagine a starving orphan from Africa being teleported to your kitchen and seeing a tap for the first time. Forget royalty, theyâd think you were a god living in heaven.
Yes, we canât all become royals in the UK with hard work. But my child and grandkids could be. Canât say Iâd encourage it. I bet absolutely no very attractive girls get let into clubs to meet very wealthy people and, shall we say, work hard? Use your talents, whatever they are. Whatâs the saying, sleeping to the top? One of the oldest professions. Iâm not advocating it just suggesting that itâs possible and not entirely about birth. Bit late for me like 