Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
There are too many open questions about what kind of deal we could get to make this possible. The Government, not Parliament, will decide what terms to ask for and what to give away so there is no need to rally behind a common approach to Brexit - there isn't one.
Remainers aren't rallying around the government here but equally the Government aren't seeking to reach out to them or ally their fears. In fact the Tory Party Conference made it clear that this isn't on the cards. The 52% won and the 48% didn't and that's it. Which is fair enough, the 52% did win and the government is right and obliged to act upon that. However at the same time if everyone else is being completely shut out, their concerns dismissed as elitist and unpatriotic, then the government shouldn't expect their support either. If you choose to embrace that divide then you can't complain it exists. Again that isn't to excuse Remain, we're embracing that divide as well.
For my part I think we have to leave the EU and can't overturn the referendum, obviously. However the talk of EU worker lists, the lack of assurance for current EU citizens and leaving the single market entirely is everything I feared Brexit would be. I'm not going to support those things.[COLOR="Silver"]
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That's part of the problem though - it's the 'talk' of this, that, or the other which is stirring everyone up, frequently with no real basis. What assurances can be given on anything substantial before negotiations have been opened without affecting our negotiating position at the same time? What assurances (or scare stories for that matter) do we get prior to elections and how often do they actually materialise? If we want to get the best deal out of Brexit we need to start the process with a strong hand having not a) already having divulged what we will be prepared to accept or b) already talked our economy down to the point where we've put the other side at a distinct advantage due to our perceived desperation.
I don't think anyone can seriously doubt that the best way to come out of any negotiation on top is to start from a position of strength rather than weakness due to a largely self-induced currency 'crisis'. Sterling aside, our economy has been performing better than the EU for some time which ought to be enhancing our position but that's all been undone, for now at least, by all the focus on Sterling and subsequent jitters.