Letters to the Editor: Readers share more Bregrets
Reaction now has a Letters to the Editor page. Since we published our first selection on Bregrets, more readers have been in touch on the same theme. Below is a selection.
* * *
Sir,
My Bregret? Thinking it was a good idea for Gove to knife Boris because Boris isn’t very good and therefore Gove had helped us dodge a bullet.
The whole thing – everything – was horrifyingly botched from that moment on.
James
* * *
Sir,
The UK negotiating stance on Brexit has been so inept that part of me really wants to believe it is conspiracy rather than cock-up. The fundamental mindset has been treating the Referendum outcome as a problem rather than an opportunity, leading to three main strategic errors which have undermined our efforts from the outset:
Failure to underline early on across the EU that our dispute was not with the countries and peoples of Europe, which of course we could not and did not want to “leave”, but with the federalist super-structure imposed in recent decades.
Allowing the cause of Brexit to become defined by a corner of one Party, rather than keeping it as the national cross-cutting project it could still be.
Losing the focus on the core case for leaving, which in my view is economic and begins with redrawing the UK’s approach to global trade from being outside the EU Customs Union. (Anything else arguably misses the whole point of Brexit).
An example of the last point comes from my own field of work – trade and investment with Africa – where freedom to redraw tariff boundaries could have a dramatic effect on sustainable growth in developing countries currently subject to the EU external tariff (which tends to benefit producer EU countries at the expense of poorer economies). That is the kind of globally-significant post-Brexit move that in turn could have significant impact on the UK’s standing in the world, as seen through the demonstrated strength of our values and our economy. It’s not too late to aim that high! (Is it …?)
Robin Gwynn
* * *
Sir,
Slightly tangential I admit, but my main personal regret is that I paid £3 to enable me to vote for Corbyn as a joke, assuming he couldn’t possibly win. If the Labour party had elected a sensible moderate leadership it might have been able to work with the Conservatives to honour the referendum vote.
Michael Ross
* * *
Sir,
Of my many Bregrets, the greatest is that a complex and divisive constitutional question addressed by referendum was not subject to a supermajority – a threshold that ensured that the outcome was overwhelmingly and not just narrowly preferred by the population. Had the required threshold been, say, 60% of those eligible to vote, rather than a simple majority of those who voted, we’d have had a lot less strife along the way. So we are left with a most Bregrettable rift.
I was dragged through this with the Scottish independence referendum, which has left a poisonous atmosphere as the narrowly distinguished sides [numerically] are destined ever to spit venom.
Let no future constitutional question be decided by “50% plus one vote” – it doesn’t settle anything
Andrew Illius
* * *
Sir,
My biggest regret as a Leave voter is naively presuming that the people are sovereign and that democratically elected politicians, as public servants, might actually implement the instruction sent to them by the majority.
Victoria Baillon
* * *
Sir,
My own Leaver Bregret is how blindsided I was to how it would split my family down the middle. My own Dad is a life-time campaigner against the EU, since voting against joining the Common Market in 1975. However, he married a Dutch nurse, who was a beneficiary of the Common Market. His 65th birthday is on March 29th, while, wait for it, their 30th wedding anniversary is on April 5th. Needless to say, they do not share the same views on Europe.
No matter. I plan to mark the occasion with a special cake, with the intention of bringing the two sides together. It will read: “Taking back Control at 65, but I still want to Remain with E…you.” My Dad will get his birthday wish, albeit fudged and with a sketchy time limited backstop/delay. Of the cake, 52% will be his, 48% will be hers. One cannot hold a referendum on an issue as complex as love.
However, if the whole cake thing does go “tits-up” I’ll just go to The Winchester for a few pints and wait until it all blows over.
All love and pleas for mercy,
Rory Martin
Tell us your view and have it considered for publication on our Reaction Letters page. Send a letter to the Editor at editors@reaction.life