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Another Referendum?

John Barrett avatar

John Barrett

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7 comments on Another Referendum?

Former Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett explains why one is never enough for some people.

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A close-up shot of someone's hand as they cast a vote into a ballot box.

The problem of asking people what they want in a referendum is that after the event, those happy with the result declare that the matter now settled and those who do not like the result then want another referendum at a later date.

The problem for the Liberal Democrats is the party has held both views at the same time, following the Scottish Independence referendum and then the Brexit vote.

In Scotland, the Party was happy with the result after the Independence Referendum, as the party campaigned strongly against independence, although it was estimated that 40% of Liberal Democrat voters cast their ballot for ‘Yes’. The 55% of voters who voted ‘No’ to independence won the day and that was the end of the debate for all parties, except the SNP, who have continued to call for a second referendum.

The Brexit vote aftermath did not cover the party in glory

The Brexit result was quite different, with the party united behind the Remain campaign and after losing the vote, it quickly called for a second referendum, and Jo Swinson, then party leader, also campaigned to set aside the result if she became Prime Minister at the next General election, promising to revoke Article 50 the law to ensure the UK leaves the EU.

Many Liberal Democrats would like to see the UK rejoin the EU in the long term and those who accepted the Brexit result did not believe that branding those who voted to leave the EU as poorly educated, ignorant or racist as a sensible way to engage in future dialogue with them about EU membership. Since the Brexit vote there are now few if any voices within the Lib Dems who look forward to a future outside the EU and consider the matter settled.

The illogical contradiction

The end result of not accepting the Brexit vote as an end to the debate is that in the near future, following the recent Scottish election results, John Swinney of the SNP and the Green Party will demand another referendum on Independence and the Liberal Democrats will have to develop an answer which avoids them facing in different directions at the same time.

John Barrett is former Edinburgh City Councillor and MP for Edinburgh West. 

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7 responses to “Another Referendum?”

  1. David Barnsdale avatar
    David Barnsdale

    The reason why the revoke article 50 campaign was so disastrous for us is that we Liberal Democrats were proposing to set-aside the Brexit vote without a second referendum.

    Reply
    1. John Barrett avatar
      John Barrett

      Hi David, I agree with what you say and that reinforces what I have written, that supporting a second referendum, as many Lib-Dems do on Brexit, while opposing a second referendum on independence in Scotland does leave the party open to charges of hypocrisy, and of only accepting a referendum result when they agree with it.

      Reply
  2. Andrew avatar
    Andrew

    Reform are in the same boat. They insist that any decision to rejoin the EU should follow a referendum. They don’t want to rejoin, but if that is the direction of travel it should be the referendum method.
    They don’t want Scotland independent, and don’t want to put it to the people at all, rather trusting the Govt to make the decision.

    Hey, that is common ground with Reform… 😉

    Reply
  3. Zoe Hollowood avatar
    Zoe Hollowood

    I know this wasn’t the main thrust of your article John, but your point about labelling people who voted for Brexit ‘racist’ etc rather than trying to engage with the issues laying behind their vote is well made. I see this far too often in some so-called liberal circles still today – it is a very lazy and divisive way of thinking. Such an attitude allows dismissal of those who have come to an opposing view by diagnosing them as having some moral failing. This shuts down the need to engage further and think more deeply – othering them as morally lesser beings. It takes a genuine liberal and curious individual to do the hard and sometimes painful work of examining why people came to the opposite conclusion without assuming they are ‘bad people’. Such examination of course may cause people to question their own decisions (which can be painful) or may make us find stronger arguments for our own conclusions. I still do not think leaving the EU was the right decision but having read books like ‘Hired’ since, I now feel I have a better understanding for why people made the decision to vote leave.

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    1. Andrew avatar
      Andrew

      What was it Stewart Lee said about Brexit… “Not all Brexit voters are racist, but all racists voted for Brexit” That may be true but I suspect the vast majority of the non-racist voters who backed Brexit (like my late father in law who was a great intellect) voted viscerally.

      There’s also another slightly disturbing aspect to the Brexit vote particularly for Scotland. 62% voted for EU membership being retained yet were dragged out of the EU because of the democratic deficit. This was particularly a problem as they’d been promised continuity of membership (including by the LD politicians like Swinson, Rennie, Carmichael and Cole-Hamilton) if they voted against independence. The English majority vote that pulled Scotland out was a double betrayal for many.
      I did a presentation on the influence of media on Brexit for my sociology degree. Where the Murdoch press was less influential the vote to remain won the day. Perhaps the real issue is not Brexit, racism, the EU per se, so much as the credulous and elements of the media pushing messaging for vested interests?

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      1. John Barrett avatar
        John Barrett

        Hi Andrew, Your point is well made about Scotland voting Remain, but then being dragged out of the EU by votes elsewhere. One of the reasons I did vote ‘Yes’ to Independence in the Scottish referendum (much to the horror of some of the party establishment in Scotland) was that I had pointed out in newspaper articles such as this -https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/john-barrett-independence-about-country-not-cash-1548326 and that following a Brexit vote in England this could happen. You are also right that the party line at the time was that only by voting against independence could Scotland remain in the EU, which proved to be exactly the opposite of what happened.

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    2. John Barrett avatar
      John Barrett

      Hi Zoe, I agree that in some Liberal circles no debate about certain issues or views are now allowed and those who hold those views are either silenced or leave the party. Those who declare there should be no debate on certain topics are sometimes activists with very strong views, but who will not tolerate those views being challenged within the party. After 40 years (1980-2020) as a party member, federal and Scottish Executive Member, election agent, community activist, Edinburgh city councillor and finally as an MP, I decided that if I wanted to continue to be able to discuss any issue I wanted to, in an open and honest way, with people who understood that all ideas and issues can be debated, the only place I could do it would be outside the party structure.

      Reply

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