by Polites » Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:17 pm
I think Brexit was a terrible decision that will most likely have mostly negative effects on Britain, a decision that was taken after a very close referendum and after a particularly mendacious campaign (on both sides).
That being said, a second referendum (or a "People's Vote" for that matter) would be a very bad idea. Firstly, it is very likely the outcome would be the same, judging by opinion polls. Secondly, millions of Britons voted in the referendum for the first time in their lives (compared to turnout in general elections), and to effectively abolish their vote cause they made the "wrong" decision would send a big "fuck you" to those voters, reinforcing the whole (not entirely unjustified) view of Europe as an elite club of Eurocrats that only care about popular opinion when it goes their way (see how Ireland was made to vote twice for Lisbon when they voted "incorrectly" the first time). Thirdly, while the referendum itself and its outcome is not in Britain's best interests, it represented genuine frustrations of Britons who feel that Parliament (and Brussels) don't represent their interests. Although the referendum was bad for Britain, a second referendum would be even worse. It would remove the modicum of confidence many Britons still have in the democratic process and it will just confirm that, no matter what they do or how they vote, London will have its way.
I do agree that referenda are not a good tool for governance, but that is because their terms and outcomes are determined by those that initiate them. Because of that they are not as democratic as people make them out to be.