Ros Dunn
Ros Dunn
Aug 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Message for Owen Jones (although I’m not holding my breath that he’ll read it)

Dear Owen,

I’m prompted to write this because I do not agree that it is “impossible to discuss Brexit in any rational way”. I am not an extremist, nor do I accuse you of having any ulterior motives. But I do think your argument is based on a main premise that is open to challenge. Here are my reasons, which I hope you will agree are not the words of an extremist.

Your consistent post referendum argument is that the referendum result which reflected a democratic choice, to leave the EU, is fixed and, by implication, that there are no circumstances in which it can be changed:

Even though it is pretty much an admitted matter of public record that some of the key Leave claims were known to be false.

Even though there was no precise definition of what leaving actually meant and again, the Leave campaign made a number of claims about what it would mean – which arguably influenced people’s voting intentions – that are now clearly not being adhered to. For example, that EU citizens living in the UK would have exactly the same rights post Brexit as they currently enjoy.

Even though – and here I accept the room for interpretation – there are many indications that the prospect of Brexit is already causing economic harm; currency devaluation, ratings agency downgrade, slip in our position in the world, poorer economic performance than the rest of the EU, increasing evidence of investment and location decisions being adversely affected by Brexit.

Even though we know that the uncertainty created by Brexit is causing immense emotional damage and stress to EU citizens in the UK, and British citizens living in the EU (see above). And that the Home Office’s propensity to make mistakes and accidentally warn EU citizens that they are to be deported is hardly reassuring.

Even though we know –again more speculative- that more recent polls suggest that the majority is swinging towards the view that Brexit is not going well, is not going to benefit the UK, is likely to make us worse off etc.

And even though we have good reasons to believe that had 16–17 year olds been allowed to vote as they were in the Scottish referendum, that the result is highly likely to have been different. Clue here: the decision not to grant this right was apparently taken to appease the Tory right.

I would like to know if you can think of any other examples where people are asked to make a binding choice that affects their rights, including citizenship rights, on the basis of:

No firm information of what it actually means and what will be put in place as a result of that choice.

No firm information of the implications of what that will mean in practice

No firm information on what it means for them as individuals

No opportunity to change their minds, or even review their choice when any of the information above becomes available.

I can’t.

I do not suggest that we “simply ignore” the referendum result. And you are absolutely right to point to the difficulty of reconciling the different views on the EU. But that is the worst possible reason for not doing something to give people the choice that they were effectively denied in the referendum; the right to change their minds on a decision that has supreme significance for them once they know what is on offer.

At some point, there will be an offer, in terms of the negotiated position reached in the final stages of the negotiations. Can you give me one good reason why people shouldn’t be asked if they are prepared to accept the terms on offer through a further referendum, on the basis of a clear understanding of the choice and the alternatives? It may be a great offer that commands obvious acceptance. But are you really comfortable telling people that despite all the problems with the referendum in 2016, and all the information that we have gathered since, they can do nothing about it even if they think it’s a really bad deal and they are unhappy about having their rights taken away?

I feel strongly about this not just because I voted remain but, as a former public policy professional, because of the way it was conducted in the first place and has been handled subsequently. This is the thermo-nuclear version of the council tax in terms of disastrous policy design and execution. And to say in effect that we can do nothing about it should it be necessary to do so feels profoundly undemocratic to me.

I hope you will not see these as the words of an extremist, or someone looking for traitors not converts, heretics, appeasers and flip-floppers. I am just someone who wants to get the best out of an incredibly bad situation.

Ros Dunn

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    Ros Dunn

    Written by

    Ros Dunn

    Want to live in a society that looks after those who need it. Proud to be the sort of Brit who thinks immigration and the EU are good for us.

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