Brexit: May not ruling out second MPs' vote on deal

A second referendum is anti-democratic, but a second vote in Parliament is completely different and perfectly justified apparently.

Project Fear

There's an old favourite in politics, whereby a leader will attempt to push through a policy by playing on the concerns of the public. They threaten instability and even chaos if they don't get their way. This kind of stunt is used by demagogues and dictators, but it can, and indeed has been, used by any Head of Government. The idea is to frighten the public into supporting a policy which will, in the long run, either strengthen the hand of said leader, or allow them to push through their chosen policy.

In the UK, we call that Project Fear. Two days ago, Theresa May said that rejecting the Brexit deal would cause "division and uncertainty". This afternoon, she reaffirmed this argument when she batted away criticism of her Brexit deal, saying that critics only want to "cause chaos".

Also this afternoon, the Government itself admitted that Brexit will leave the UK "worse off", and the Bank of England warned that a no-deal Brexit would lead to a recession. Regardless of whether initially it was arguable that Brexit had some redeemable qualities, it is indisputable now that it is going to be a disaster. And yet our own Prime Minister, who promises to protect the best interests of the British people, is attempting to frighten her own MPs into supporting a deal which no one could argue is going to be good for the country. Should the question of leaving the European Union be put back in the hands of the public, I hope that we will all take a step back and consider for ourselves what will shape the brightest future for the United Kingdom. No one should feel coerced into voting for a deal which the Prime Minister can only possibly be supporting in order not to lose face.