Why a Second Referendum is the only Option Left

Brexit is often compared to a bad divorce. It has taken two years and still sees no sign of an end with things getting messier by the day. During the Brexit campaigning period, there were lucrative promises that soon went unfulfilled once the vote had succeeded in the UK leaving the EU. Now as a country we are left with only a few options. The current deal is now in the hands of parliament to decide as to whether it is accepted. If the MP's vote against Mrs May's deal, there are a few of options left. Vote again on the deal, re-enter negotiations, leave the EU without a deal, Labour triggering a vote of no confidence against the government or holding another referendum.

It currently looks as though there is little chance of the MP’s voting in favour of Mrs May’s deal (Should she actually give them the chance), meaning one of these options will need to be taken. As mentioned in my last article, a No-Deal should not be an option. Re-entering negotiations will likely yield little result and Labour just doesn't have the numbers they need (2/3rds of Parliament) to trigger a general election. So that just leaves the option of a second referendum, of which many are apprehensive about.

These apprehensions are not misguided. They come from people not wanting to cheat those who voted in the first place. If the UK were to have a second referendum, this could lead to lasting resentment amongst a large portion of the population who were in favour of leaving the EU. It would also further fuel the populist parties who like suggesting how governments will always stab the people in the back. However, many of the Brexiter’s who sought a hard Brexit see the current deal as humiliating and not what they voted for in the first instance. With this in mind, it seems a foolish effort to be pursuing a deal in the name of these Brexiters when even they do not believe in it. It may well cause resentment amongst many of the people of the UK, but pushing the deal, when many original believers no longer believe in what is being offered, will have a similar result but with the added effects of a poor deal.

So why must the option of a second referendum be chosen? Mrs May faces too much competition in parliament to get this vote through. Labour and all other opposing parties are against the deal, and over 100 of her own MP's have stated they have no confidence in her or her deal. If Mrs May wishes to have any chance of this deal she has spent two years negotiating, then she has no option but to take a vote to the people and let them decide. Rather than all these parliamentary debates that have taken place over the past two weeks, Mrs May and Parliament need to accept that the only accurate way to know what the people want, is to actually ask them.

Now that the Brexiters know what “Brexit means Brexit” means, they should have the chance to vote on whether they still want it.