Leavers and Remainers must accept the result win or lose

And now, the end is near… Finally, at last, the polls are open and the UK is choosing what it wants to do about the EU. After decades of boring our neighbours in Europe senseless on the subject, the voters will decide once and for all whether we are in or out. Shake it all about is not on the ballot paper. This is it. In or out.

What will the result be? Nigel Smith, the industrialist who chaired the successful Yes campaign in the Scottish referendum, and who has since become a referendum expert, called it as a victory for Leave last night in a piece for Reaction.

My view? I haven’t got a Scooby (Scooby Doo, clue). No general election or referendum can match the story of the last few months in terms of discombobulation. I finish the campaign chastened and saddened (by what it has done to civilised discourse) and clueless about the outcome.

But that’s enough about me. What else have we learned?

1. The redemptive power of love, thanks to the dignity of Jo Cox’s family. Leavers disliked intensely the way in which some Remainers sought to exploit the tragedy, but what are such ridiculous squabbles when viewed in relation to the powerful speech made by the sister of Jo Cox near the spot where her sister was killed?

2. Referendums are bad, and I’ll believe that even if my side wins. They turn complex questions into a binary choice. They make friends fall out. They make good people go along with distortions of the truth because they are desperate to win. Of course, all of these things can happen in a general election, but we take part in a general election knowing that if our side loses we will get another go in four or five years time. A referendum is a fork in the road, and knowing that makes those involved care to the point of myopia and madness. Referendums are bad. Let’s not have any more.

3. George Osborne is in the departure lounge. Even if Remain wins comfortably, the Leavers in the Tory party will need a proxy to attack the victorious Prime Minister, and that will be the man who produced the ludicrous emergency Budget (which was obliterated by Tory MPs within hours). I suspect that a substantial block of Tory MPs will not forget that it was Osborne, working closely with Lord Mandelson, that took the blue on blue infighting up to thermo-nuclear levels. Osborne is one hell of an operator, so one must not exclude the possibility of him rebuilding, but as of now he looks stuffed.

4. Laura Kuenssberg has had a great referendum campaign, as have Chris Mason of the BBC and John Pienaar. In contrast to certain other reporters (I’m thinking of one in particular, not on the BBC), they have been scrupulously fair, calm and balanced throughout the campaign.

5. Tim Farron should not have produced that rapping tribute to John Barnes.

But in my view the biggest lesson, the ultimate take away from months of turmoil, is quite simply as follows.

Both sides should, must, accept the result tonight whatever it is, for the sake of their sanity and for the sake of their country. Forget whining about the unfairness or regrouping for another go: a defeat is a defeat and a win is a win. Many normal people have had enough of arguments about the EU. Once the result is declared, there are no longer Leavers or Remainers. We should all get on in good humour with whatever follows (he said optimistically with an air of futility). See you on the other side…