Francis Mead
Jul 25, 2017 · 1 min read

On and PS — let’s look at this argument about “respecting the referendum vote.” I can perfectly well respect the referendum vote and campaign to have another referendum to overturn it. I respect that the vote means that our current policy is to leave the EU. When did that ever mean that it is not legitimate to campaign against a vote or to argue against it? For example one could perfectly respect the fact that fox-hunting used to be allowed under the laws of the UK. When did that ever mean that you couldn’t campaign to change the law? I respect the vote of the last election — the Conservatives are currently in government, as per the laws of our land and established political precedent. When did that ever imply that I couldn’t campaign to oust that government by political persuasion and action — as soon as practically feasible? In a democracy, there is ALWAYS the opportunity to campaign against a law or a decision that you disagree with — that is fundamental to a democracy. The only exceptions to this are the following: it’s not legitimate to campaign to abolish fundamental human rights, nor the fundamental tenets of the democratic system itself. Everything else in a democracy is fair game -and that’s as it should be.