Nigel Farage, the ex-UKIP Leader and the most vocal and passionate “Brexiteer” pushing for Brexit, has recently suggested that the UK should perhaps have a second referendum on the issue.
Maybe, just maybe, we should have a second referendum on EU membership. It would kill off the issue for a generation once and for all. https://t.co/FQxniMi5MA
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) January 11, 2018
The 53-year-old politician made the claim soon after his presence on the TV talk show “The Wright Stuff“.
On the Channel 5 show, hosted by Matthew Wright, Farage shared his view that “what is for certain is that the Cleggs, the Blairs, the Adonises will never, ever, ever give up”.
In his statement, he referred to influential and vocal critics of Brexit such as ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, ex-Vice PM Nick Clegg, and politician Lord Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis. Lord Adonis resigned from his position as chair of the National Infrastructure Commission in December, after describing the negotiations to leave the European Union as “a dangerous populist and nationalist spasm worthy of Donald Trump”. Adonis welcomed Farage’s suggestion for a second referendum wholeheartedly on Twitter, writing:
So Nigel Farage wants a referendum on Mrs May’s Brexit deal. I agree. Bring it on!
— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) January 11, 2018
3 days ago Farage said I was a 'twisted weasel' for wanting a referendum on Mrs May's Brexit deal. Now he wants one too.
"Weasel: mammal carnivore with long, sharp canine teeth to bite the head or neck of prey to break its bones."
— Andrew Adonis (@Andrew_Adonis) January 11, 2018
Farage, however, is not alone in believing that a second referendum would silence anti-Brexit sentiment and fully commit the country to withdrawal. UKIP donor and co-founder Arron Banks added his belief that the Leave campaign would “win by a landslide” and warned that the county may “sleepwalk into a faux Brexit of name only”.
According to the BBC statistics, 51.9% of all votes in the 2016 referendum were pro-Brexit, with just under half going to the Remain campaign. The turnout for the referendum was a high 72.2% of the 46,501,241 members of the electorate. This narrow majority, whilst still considerable enough to have resulted in the activation of Article 50, are not necessarily suggestive of the “landslide” that Banks places his faith in. Furthermore, a September 2017 survey for the Independent revealed that public opinion and support had dwindled since the referendum, as only 48% of 1,400 UK adults supported leaving the EU – evidence of a 4% decrease.
A consideration to be had before calling for a second referendum, however, is whether or not the integrity of the United Kingdom’s democracy would be questioned or damaged. Many critics of a second campaign, such as Suella Fernandes, worries that a reversal of Brexit would be “divisive and undemocratic” and “would destroy the trust of the British people”. Furthermore, the lack of committal to the democratic wishes and decisions of the United Kingdom’s populace could be seen as a weakness by other nations, especially those of the democratic world.
Lord Malloch Brown – a staunch Remainer of the organization Best for Britain – would disagree. In response to Farage’s comments, he declared “bring it on.”
Lord Brown is supported by Labour MP Chuka Umunna in his belief that another vote is what “the county needs”. Umunna commented that “for perhaps the first time in his life, Nigel Farage is making a valid point”.
Nigel Farage, however, had no kind words for his opposition over the EU. The MEP stylized his competition, who have refused to remain silent after their loss in 2016, as “Remoaners”, and criticized them for “whingeing and whining and moaning all the way through this [Brexit] process”.
“We may just finish the whole thing off and Blair can disappear off into total obscurity,” Farage said, referring to the ex-Labour Prime Minister.
Photo: Gage Skidmore
