Listening just now to the rather supercilious Chuka Umunna arguing for a second referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, I'm driven to the conclusion that arch-Remainers such as him will use any and every spurious argument in pursuit of their objective.
Umunna is very clear that he wants the UK to reverse its decision and remain within the EU. He is a firm supporter of calls for a second referendum, part of his reasoning being that there are many people who will be affected by the decision to leave who haven't had a chance to have their say, principally referring to those who were too young to be able to cast a vote in the 2016 referendum. For a supposedly highly intelligent man, Umunna appears to have a particularly blind spot when it comes to seeing the basic illogic of this position.
When the UK voted to stay in the forerunner of the EU, the Common Market, in 1975, there were just as many young people who were denied a vote and whose views were not taken into account. No one suggested that there should be another referendum a few years later in order to rectify this 'problem'. Indeed, had there been a second referendum at that time, surely logic would then have demanded that there should have been a third, fourth and fifth referendum, followed by an infinite series, so as to ensure that the views of those who were not even twinkles in their grandparents' eyes in 1975 were ultimately taken into account; after all, there will always be a new batch of 'young people' who should be allowed to 'have their say'. The UK could have done the 'Hokey-Cokey', joining, leaving, joining, and leaving, for ever and a day as the results of a never ending stream of referendums see-sawed.
Umunna's approach simply doesn't hold water. A referendum is a one-off way of determining the views of the populace at a point in time for the purposes of finding a path to follow. It is not a mechanism for allowing Parliament to avoid its responsibilities, nor to try to get an answer which the elite likes. Having held a referendum in 2016, our representatives were given a clear direction - the people of the United Kingdom had had enough of the European Union and wanted to leave. That should be the end of the matter.
Arguments about 'types' of Brexit, the vote not being fair as young people didn't have a say, the people who did vote not having 'all of the information' and the rest of the Remainers' armoury of nonsensical drivel are irrelevant and the sooner the likes of Chuka Umunna accept it, the better.
Leave means Leave.
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