Patrick CoxNov 16, 20182 minTo beat the Tories back a #PeoplesVote, LabourCorbyn wants to beat the Tories. The way to do that is to back a vote on the terms of May's Brexit deal. I understand Jeremy Corbyn's unwillingness to seek nothing less than a general election. He wants his party to be in government and therefore keeps pushing May to resign. Unfortunately that won't work. Ministers or Prime Ministers don't resign just because you keep telling them to. Perhaps Jeremy Corbyn thinks badgering the government about an election is pressure; it's no
Patrick CoxNov 4, 20185 minBrexit endgameHow will Brexit end? When will Brexit end? These are not easy questions to answer. Any analysis of Brexit quickly runs up against many different uncertainties. No country has ever left before - so there is no precedent to follow. The UK's political system is not used to dealing with sudden changes to the constitution. There is almost no agreement between or within political parties, commentators or the public about what will happen, when and how. What is for certain though is
Patrick CoxOct 23, 20184 min9 reasons to #StopBrexitWhy should Brexit be cancelled? Here's all the reasons, from one to nine. A People's Vote is the name for a 'ratification referendum'. Since there was no real clarity in 2016 what the vote to leave meant, it makes sense that once negotiations are concluded the final decision goes to the people. In such a referendum there must be the option to remain in the EU. Article 50, which triggered the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, is fully revocable. Here are 9 reasons why Brexit s
Patrick CoxApr 15, 20182 minLabour and Brexit: not believing in leaving? What is the point of Labour's position on Brexit? It's hard to tell what Labour really thinks about Brexit. Or at least it's been hard to tell, until Barry Gardiner let slip that the Labour's stated policy position is "bollocks". That situation is that while (1) the Labour Party campaigned to remain in the EU, (2) the referendum vote went against them. What has been tricky has been reconciling these two opposing realities. Leaving the EU will be detrimental to the country as
Patrick CoxSep 14, 20165 minBrexit Breakdown: LabourBrexit has the potential to ground the Labour Party for good. The Labour Party has fared worse from the vote to leave the EU than any other party. That might seem like hyperbole considering that the Conservatives had their Prime Minister resign less than a year after winning a first election victory for 18 years. Yet political power has a curiously cohesive quality and the Tories are still united - in public at least. The Labour Party faces an existential crisis for which the
Patrick CoxAug 17, 20162 minBrexit breakdownBrexit has taken a hammer to our political norms. Where damage has been done to the different political parties? The dust has started to settle on the referendum vote on Britain’s relationship with the EU. At this point it seems appropriate to reach for the hyperbole – a most historic moment in British history, a decision that changes everything, a revolution, even. The referendum vote is undoubtedly a marker, and a significant political event. There were numerous reasons for