Jason Moore10/10/2016 00:00
TW
2

Should the British parliament have its say on the European Union referendum result? It is a difficult question. The people of Britain voted to leave, but their elected representatives in parliament can’t have their say. I believe that there should be parliamentary debate and if necessary a vote, just to show whether parliament either supports or disagrees with the referendum result.

I have made it very clear in this space that, personally speaking, I think it is a very bad idea for Britain to leave. I am also aware that the referendum had little to do with Europe; it was basically a vote on immigration. But the people of Britain had their say and they decided to go. If there was a dramatic swing to the "stay" campaign in opinon polls, then a second referendum might be a good idea. But this hasn’t really happened either. It must be said, though, that some of the consequences which were predicted by the Stay camp if Britain left are slowly starting to happen. The value of the pound has fallen, resulting in more expensive holidays. British business sentiment has dropped and economic growth has been cut. There is a possibility that a number of British companies may decide to relocate abroad if they do not have access to the single market. If you knew before what you know now, would you vote in favour of EU membership? This is the problem in a nutshell.