However many millions of Remainers hit the streets for ‘people’s vote’ marches, and sign online petitions, it won’t change the fact that the UK is deeply divided, between north and south, city and rural, old and young, middle class and working class.
Personally, I would’ve preferred Remain (+transform) to Brexit, but I think a second referendum could be disastrous - whatever the result. Firstly, it will be another horribly hateful and divisive month or so of campaigning. Then, if Remain wins, Leavers will (kinda justifiably) feel even more fucked over than they already did following decades of neoliberalism. This thing we call democracy will have been massively undermined and right-wing populism will grow, with a Tory government still in power for another three years doing nothing to stop it.
If Leave wins, we get May’s deal. Her deal is bad for the left - it will make it harder to implement socialistic policies in the future, which is essential for addressing the root cause of the anger and desperation in society (neoliberalism).
Labour’s approach of calling for a general election and then going for a different kind of Brexit under a Labour government, seems the most sensible way forward to me. (And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Corbyn supporter!). That’s what Corbyn and Keir Starmer have been getting on with - EU officials have clearly indicated to them that they are open to their kind of deal.
Maybe if all the energy currently put into bringing about a second referendum was put into calling for a general election, there’d be a chance of making it happen somehow?
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