You have done more than almost anyone to oppose Brexit but I am dismayed that you abandon the fight. As much as anything, it is the failure of the media to hold the right and Brexiters in particular to account. Is the issue that almost dare not speak its name. So those of us who are conscious of the disaster and the culpability of those who engineered must surely keep speaking the truth?
Another interesting video. Pleased that you addressed PR, albeit briefly!
I've argued previously (in defence of the Lib Dems' position) that the EU won't allow us to rejoin unless there is support across the left-right spectrum. I know the emphasis of your argument here is that unless the centre-right moves away from kneejerk anti-Europeanism it won't have a route back to power, but I think you're also saying that for the UK to rejoin the EU you are accepting that the right - or at least part of it - will need to support rejoining.
An alternative to the Conservatives growing their tent to include moderate pro-Europeans is of course for the Lib Dems to grow their tent to include more centre-right voters. I think the Lib Dems would find it a challenge to be a party that is heavily dominated by centre-right members/voters, but it may not be an insurmountable one.
Would I go so far as to predict that the Lib Dems will displace the Conservatives? No. But in a scenario that sees Reform overtaking the Conservatives - which you agree is plausible, even likely - it wouldn't be at all impossible that the Lib Dems could grow and evolve into a party that the moderate centre right felt at home in, even if perhaps only for a generation.
Thanks Nick, that’s an argument with some force though it was articulated by many during the 2016 debate. The outcome of Brexit for the Tory party was the expulsion of its entire one nation wing who might have otherwise maintained a higher profile for such views. So your prediction that reversing Brexit will need to come from the right has a certain logic. There is a limit to which the Tory party can continue to immolate themselves in pursuit of Farage into Brextremism when voters could choose the authentic article, and faced with a rising sense of realisation of just what a disaster Brexit has been. Perhaps the one Brexit benefit is that support for the EU within the EU has never been higher, the UK providing an object lesson of what happens if you leave. To avoid oblivion the Tory party will need to re embrace a European future.
I think the Brexit vote was very much about protectionism, whether economic from the left or xenophobic from the far right. The call for protectionism arose from the consequences of globalisation where the undoubted benefits of free trade were spread thinly but its costs fell very narrowly on industries which were displaced without governments creating frameworks and infrastructure to support the growth of alternative employment. The financial crisis, arguably brought about by a complacent belief in the infallibility of free markets which needed no guard rails, gave this protectionist urge yet another twist. What was curious was how those who engineered the Leave campaign, mostly extreme libertarians who probably deluded themselves about free markets by failing to understand the role of common standards and the absence of non tariff barriers, succeeded in creating an alliance with instinctive protectionists. Now that alliance is broken, and their only recourse is now a Trumpian dystopia. They might just achieve that as Labour appears determined to maintain a pusillanimous silence on Brexit, unless the Tories rid themselves of the Brexit incubus very soon.
With all due respect Nick, could I suggest that you watch this post and count how many times you say um or err or such like? Very few people can speak fluently without a script, so I was taught just to pause when gathering my thoughts. Trust me, you’ll appear to be a more polished and persuasive speaker.
You have done more than almost anyone to oppose Brexit but I am dismayed that you abandon the fight. As much as anything, it is the failure of the media to hold the right and Brexiters in particular to account. Is the issue that almost dare not speak its name. So those of us who are conscious of the disaster and the culpability of those who engineered must surely keep speaking the truth?
Another interesting video. Pleased that you addressed PR, albeit briefly!
I've argued previously (in defence of the Lib Dems' position) that the EU won't allow us to rejoin unless there is support across the left-right spectrum. I know the emphasis of your argument here is that unless the centre-right moves away from kneejerk anti-Europeanism it won't have a route back to power, but I think you're also saying that for the UK to rejoin the EU you are accepting that the right - or at least part of it - will need to support rejoining.
An alternative to the Conservatives growing their tent to include moderate pro-Europeans is of course for the Lib Dems to grow their tent to include more centre-right voters. I think the Lib Dems would find it a challenge to be a party that is heavily dominated by centre-right members/voters, but it may not be an insurmountable one.
Would I go so far as to predict that the Lib Dems will displace the Conservatives? No. But in a scenario that sees Reform overtaking the Conservatives - which you agree is plausible, even likely - it wouldn't be at all impossible that the Lib Dems could grow and evolve into a party that the moderate centre right felt at home in, even if perhaps only for a generation.
Thanks Nick, that’s an argument with some force though it was articulated by many during the 2016 debate. The outcome of Brexit for the Tory party was the expulsion of its entire one nation wing who might have otherwise maintained a higher profile for such views. So your prediction that reversing Brexit will need to come from the right has a certain logic. There is a limit to which the Tory party can continue to immolate themselves in pursuit of Farage into Brextremism when voters could choose the authentic article, and faced with a rising sense of realisation of just what a disaster Brexit has been. Perhaps the one Brexit benefit is that support for the EU within the EU has never been higher, the UK providing an object lesson of what happens if you leave. To avoid oblivion the Tory party will need to re embrace a European future.
I think the Brexit vote was very much about protectionism, whether economic from the left or xenophobic from the far right. The call for protectionism arose from the consequences of globalisation where the undoubted benefits of free trade were spread thinly but its costs fell very narrowly on industries which were displaced without governments creating frameworks and infrastructure to support the growth of alternative employment. The financial crisis, arguably brought about by a complacent belief in the infallibility of free markets which needed no guard rails, gave this protectionist urge yet another twist. What was curious was how those who engineered the Leave campaign, mostly extreme libertarians who probably deluded themselves about free markets by failing to understand the role of common standards and the absence of non tariff barriers, succeeded in creating an alliance with instinctive protectionists. Now that alliance is broken, and their only recourse is now a Trumpian dystopia. They might just achieve that as Labour appears determined to maintain a pusillanimous silence on Brexit, unless the Tories rid themselves of the Brexit incubus very soon.
With all due respect Nick, could I suggest that you watch this post and count how many times you say um or err or such like? Very few people can speak fluently without a script, so I was taught just to pause when gathering my thoughts. Trust me, you’ll appear to be a more polished and persuasive speaker.