An Englishman Updates the Brexit Fiasco

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by Neil Bamforth

The facts? Brexit? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Well, no actually. Amazingly there are some facts regarding Brexit that are incontrovertible. Most things said about Brexit are thoughts or beliefs or desires. Facts seem to have played an extraordinary small part in almost everything related to Brexit.

The facts are simple.

Fact 1 : A referendum was called regarding our continued membership of the EU. There were two choices. ‘Leave’ or ‘Remain’.

Fact 2 : Prime Minister, David Cameron, stated that the referendum was a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to put the arguments regarding the EU to bed, and that the result would be binding.

Fact 3 : 72.2% of the electorate turned out to vote in said referendum.

Fact 4 : 48.1%, equating to 16,141,241 voters, voted to ‘Remain’. 51.9%, equating to 17,410,742 voters, voted ‘Leave’.

Fact 5 : It was a United Kingdom referendum, therefore regional differences – Scotland voted ‘Remain’, Wales ‘Leave’, Northern Ireland ‘Remain’ and England ‘Leave’ – are irrelevant.

Scotland is particularly upset that they, as a country, voted remain. They find it small consolation that it was a UK vote rather than a regional vote. However, I only discovered today via a comment left on a friends Facebook page, that if the referendum had been decided regionally rather than nationally as it was, the vote to leave would have actually been more decisive.

Given the unadulterated garbage often found on social media I, for once, decided to do some research. Now don’t be cheeky, I do sometimes you know. Well, occasionally. Well, now and then. Anyway, I did this time and, I have to say, I was startled.

The information incidentally, is on a BBC site no less.

Fact 6 : If the referendum decision had been decided regionally rather than nationally – which Scottish remainers seem to think it should have been – then, in actual fact, 9 regions voted leave to only 3 voting remain. Therefore, regionally, 25% voted remain to 75% voting to leave.

The caveat here being, of course, that different regions have varying populations

The above are the most pertinent facts regarding Brexit.

Now. Pretty much everything else is not fact, quite simply because it is ‘opinion’, ‘belief’, ‘guess work’, ‘delusion’, ‘misleading garbage’ or something near or thereabouts to any one, or more, of those categories.

All the people and political parties arguing the rights and wrongs of Brexit invariably wheel out some ‘expert’ or other to back their beliefs.

Note that I said ‘beliefs’. The ‘experts’ are almost invariably experts in finance, politics or something of that ilk. Their expertise is clearly not Brexit simply because nothing like Brexit has ever occurred, therefore it is not possible to have any expertise in it.

Some people ‘believe’ in God or Allah. Some people even believe the Earth is flat, or Martians are among us. That’s the problem with belief. It is ‘belief’ and ‘belief’ is not fact.

Very alarmingly, in my view, an extremely large number of those who voted ‘Remain’ and those who voted ‘Leave’ seem increasingly convinced that their ‘beliefs’ are facts.

Imagine trying to hold a sensible debate with a Christian fundamentalist regarding the existence, or not, of God.

How about a civilized debate in Islamabad regarding the existence, or not, of Allah?

That is what it is increasingly becoming like in the United Kingdom. Both sides are taking a more and more ‘fundamentalist’ position. They have become incapable of holding anything, even vaguely, approaching a sensible debate or discussion.

Add to that the losing side, ‘Remain’, are clearly doing everything in their power to prevent Brexit from happening at all and, not surprisingly, the referendum ‘victors’, ‘Leave’, are becoming increasingly angry and frustrated.

“It was a mistake” to vote ‘leave’. That is a ‘belief’.
“We will be better off out of the EU”. That is a ‘belief’.
“Brexiteers didn’t know what they were voting for”. That is a ‘belief’.

“There should be a peoples vote.” Er, 2016? Did I miss something? Wasn’t it ‘the people’ voting then? Did I misunderstand? Was it the penguins at London Zoo? Did I inadvertently mistake myself for a penguin?

So you see, you can’t actually have a sensible discussion with a ‘Remainer’ if you are a Brexiteer or visa versa. Increasingly everybody is entrenched in their ‘beliefs’ like some lunatic Christian or Islamic fundamentalist.

Fact 7 : The legal default position if no deal is forthcoming by March 29th, 2019, is the UK leave without a deal.

That is a fact. I don’t make the law. I didn’t create that law. It is a fact.

It may stop being a fact at some point, as there is talk of suspending or delaying Brexit. Quite how changing the law in time for doing that is a mystery. Perhaps it will just be considered an inconvenient law and ignored? Nothing would surprise me lately.

No Brexiteers. We are not heading for some glorious nirvana of independence. We might be but it is a belief, not a fact.

No Remainers. It is not apocalyptical to leave the EU. It might be, but it is a belief not a fact.

That is why the UK is at odds and more divided than it has ever been on any single issue.

Everybody believes they are right, and anybody who doesn’t agree is a moron.

Have you lost the will to live yet?

Where the bloody hell is Solomon when you actually need him?

About Post Author

Neil Bamforth

I am English first, British second and never ever European. I have supported Oldham Athletic FC for 50 years which has made me immune from depression. My taste buds have died due to too many red hot curries so I drink Kronenburg beer and milk - sometimes in the same glass. I have a wife, daughter, 9 cats and I like toast.
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Neil Bamforth
5 years ago

Holte : I can but concur old bean. Cameron should never have made such a commitment.

Mike : I don’t entirely disagree but remember, to some extent it is The EU itself that fuelled Brexit.

Glenn : Close enough 😀

Shirley : A good thing? I have no idea. I know I don’t relish being a part of an undemocratic, dogmatic and corrupt empire but….will leaving be even worse? Dunno. All I’ve done is set out the facts. Given where we are there are staggeringly few wouldn’t you say?

Shirley62
5 years ago

Well, not sure what to make of this, beyond the continuing affirmation that Norman wants out of the EU, and damn the consequences. Bloody daft you are Norman if you really think Brexit is a good thing.

Glenn R. Geist
5 years ago

Class – now there’s a well partitioned land. High class, low class, no class?

Holte Ender
5 years ago

A few more facts.

1. I’m against Brexit.

2. Parliament is sovereign, not the prime minister. Cameron had no right to announce the result of the referendum would be binding, only parliament can do that.

3. British voters, especially the English ones, are burdened with the most inept politicians in my lifetime.

4. Brexiteers, especially the English ones, are conjuring up the “Blitz Spirit”. We can take any hardships as long as we leave the EU. The people who endured the Blitz had no choice.

5. I could go on all day about how deadly the situation is. I despair for the UK, for Western Europe in general and for any country that borders Russia.

Reply to  Holte Ender
5 years ago

I also despair for the UK, the land of my birth. I was educated there, at least in my early years, and have family there. I was shocked and saddened to see this beautiful land infected by the Trump Virus. Brexit is as stupid for the UK as Trump is for the USA.

Glenn R. Geist
5 years ago

“Where the bloody hell is Solomon when you actually need him?”

Well, there’s the answer and it’s worked so well elsewhere – partition! An East UK and a West UK. India and Pakistan, Iraq and Iran, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It can end in nothing but peace and tranquility. . .

Neil Bamforth
Reply to  Glenn R. Geist
5 years ago

🙂 Class old bean. Pure class 🙂

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