Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
I can't say I'm surprised that you might have preferred a supermajority, seeing as it would have favoured the position you happen to hold.
Our membership was affirmed by simple majority in 1975. It will be terminated as a result of a simple majority in 2016. Our dealings with the EU will thenceforth be a matter of government policy, just as they are in our dealings with the USA, Canada, India, China or wherever. None of these are referendum issues; they are part of a government's usual activity, and we can pass judgment on that by hiring and firing the government by the usual democratic process. If you want a say on how Brexit turned out, then you will get it in 2020.
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It is more profound that just favouring a particular position. This vote had/has the potential to fundamentally change the social, economic and structural aspects of the United Kingdom in a far more profound way than a 5 yearly General Election can ever do/has ever done.
If an elected Government, voted in on a detailed manifesto, starts to change things that the electorate, in hindsight, does not agree with, they can get voted out of office.
Will we get a Brexit referendum every 5 years if we don't like how things are playing out? No we will not.
And yes, the decision to join in 1975 should also have been a supermajority.