I like to think that I’m fairly switched on. Like being able to process the things that go on in the world and understand them, to a degree.

But I’ve never truly understood Brexit. Here we are, during one of the most important weeks of the whole process, and I’m struggling with it. So here’s my musings on the subject in the hope that by writing my thoughts down I can try and figure it all out……

Is that a splinter in your bottom?

First things first, I’m a fence sitter. I do have views on a lot of things but my problem is that if someone comes to me with a reasoned argument, I can be swayed. Furthermore, if someone else comes with an equally strong counter argument I can find myself being pulled the other way. I’m also somewhat of an expert at playing Devils Advocate. This ranks pretty high on my wifes  “things I’d probably change about my husband” list. Closely followed by my inability to process every single thing she says and remember it. But that’s another story.

Due to these “abilities” I have no particular allegiance to any political party.  In fact I didn’t even bother voting until three elections ago.  I just don’t trust politicians. I also get  frustrated when there’s little scope for change when a large number of people seem to vote just because that’s the way they always have. Or because of family loyalty and so forth.

When the Brexit referendum was announced my  reaction was that it should never have happened in the first place.  Surely such a complex decision should be left in the hands of those that have a better knowledge than the average person on the street? But it was here and I approached my vote with a fairly open mind.

Do I stay or do I go?

I’m a fan of change.  I believe we should always question how we do things and look to mix things up a little once in a while. For this reason I was drawn to a leave vote.  For me, gaining the ability to decide our own laws rather than have to defer to Brussels was an interesting proposition. I’m no fan of red tape.  Also, surely we would save a little money by becoming masters of our own destiny which could be invested back into this country. With regards to immigration I haven’t really got a strong view either way.  I do believe people should have to contribute to be able to live and work in this country though. But I appreciate there can be exceptions.

All this being said I kept on coming back to the point I made above. Did I know enough about leaving the EU to be able to vote that way.  The fact is I didn’t.  And neither did the vast majority of the country. The leave campaign was a shambles, completely embarrassing. How could anyone believe the “closing our borders/more money direct to the NHS argument” would be as simple as they made it sound. The fact was there was no reasoned argument for the leave campaign. No plan. For this reason the only sensible option for me was to vote remain. Despite being tempted to vote for change it was more of a case of better the devil you know.

Deal or no deal?

Fast forward a couple of years and, if you are to believe the media in all its forms, we’re in a seriously bad way. But then you only have to look at the reactions of the leave campaigners as the final votes came in to realise even they weren’t prepared for a 52/48 win. I have to say I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. It justified my own personal choice but I became worried for the future.  But it would all work out, right?  There’s some smart people around and surely they’d ensure we exited as professionally as possible in order to allow Britain to thrive?…..

After months of  machinations Theresa May has negotiated a deal and it seems no-one is happy with it. This is where things get really confusing for me.  What are the reasons for all this uproar? As I understand it this is the deal – take it or leave it. And in this deal we’re leaving the European Union but retaining some of the advantages and less of the cost? I apologise if that’s so far off the mark but trying to find facts on this seems near impossible.

So from a remain point of view are people still unhappy that we’re leaving in the first place and won’t entertain anything other than a reverse of the referendum?  Are the leavers unhappy as they view this as leaving without leaving, so to speak, and therefore we’re not following through with result of the referendum? I genuinely don’t know.

Theresa May and the EU have said there can be no more negotiation and yet the opposition want to renegotiate. On top of that we have some EU legal experts saying we can cancel the whole thing! What a mess.

The peoples vote

I’ve been hearing a lot about the country wanting the people to decide on this deal rather than the politicians.  I can understand this to some extent. People are allowed to change their minds in the light of further information. But, what would the vote be on?

How could we have another remain/leave vote? What if it ended up a marginal remain win?Do we go best of three?

What about a vote on deal or no deal? Based on the lack of information around for the original vote how could the average person genuinely know which of the deal/no deal scenario would be preferable. We’d need access to a lot of information from both arguments first. Would this be available?

The other option being mentioned is deal/no deal/remain.  As well as the reason above this could very well result in a vote win involving just one third of the country. How could this be a fair reflection of opinion? The irony of general election wins being on this basis is not lost on me.

Speaking of  general elections this has also been mooted.  Surely that’s more upheaval right at the time we don’t need it?

OneDadsView

So having got my thoughts down on paper where so I stand in all of this? That fence is looking really comfy about now I can tell you.

But, I’d have to say, having never wanted this vote in the first place and faced with the threat of even more upheaval and uncertainty I think I just want the whole thing finished. Therefore agreeing this deal and then getting on with our lives seems the only way forward.  I’m not smart enough to truly understand if this is the best decision for all concerned. It just feels like it’s the only decision.

I am open to being convinced otherwise….

I would love to hear your thoughts. Am I completely missing a point somewhere? Do you agree  that a sizeable portion of us don’t really know what is going on? Thanks for reading and please leave a comment below.