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You know why soft Brexit didn't happen?
It wasn't remainers.
It was because lily livered politicians, presenters and journalists wouldn't face down the xenophobes and racists with the benefits of Freedom of Movement.
It wasn't remainers.
It was because lily livered politicians, presenters and journalists wouldn't face down the xenophobes and racists with the benefits of Freedom of Movement.
Not once in the last 4 years did I hear a peep out of anyone (except for one single Lib Dem party political broadcast) in favour of immigration. Not a peep.
Not once did I hear a politician or presenter stand up for the benefits of Freedom of movement from the perspective of a British citizen.
Remain journalists - sure. But not Labour, not the Tories, not the BBC, not the Telegraph, not the tabloids.
Soft Brexit means membership of the single market (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, EEA, EFTA) or CU with FoM.
https://jonworth.eu/varieties-of-brexit/
https://jonworth.eu/varieties-of-brexit/
It didn't mean May's backstop: It didn't mean end FoM and raise regulatory borders, SPS checks on all animals.
That was NEVER on offer from anyone. Even Chuka Umunna and Nick Boles wanted FoM reformed. Even Blair wanted that.
That was NEVER on offer from anyone. Even Chuka Umunna and Nick Boles wanted FoM reformed. Even Blair wanted that.
Labour NEVER endorsed the single market. They wanted "A customs union" and "Access to" the single market. Never membership. Why? because membership meant FoM, and the Labour leadership were lexiters, and lexiters believe FoM causes falls in wages and fewer jobs available
Of course this is all bollocks. https://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2017/11/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-lexit-in-five-minutes
As for the Tory remainers, they too couldn't bring themselves to point out the advantages of the single market - again because that meant standing up for Freedom of movement, which meant standing up for immigrants, which meant standing up to the racists.
And they didn't have the guts.
Why didn't they have the guts? They were scared of them. Question Time's biased audience picking, the media, the refugee crisis, but probably #BigotGate where Brown called someone an "bigoted woman" was the tipping point
Why didn't they have the guts? They were scared of them. Question Time's biased audience picking, the media, the refugee crisis, but probably #BigotGate where Brown called someone an "bigoted woman" was the tipping point
"Duffy interjected: "You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're … but all these eastern European what are coming in, where are they flocking from?" https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/apr/28/gordon-brown-bigoted-woman
We had a chance then to stamp this shit out but we didn't.
Instead it was all "you can't tell voters they are wrong".
"You can't tell them they are bigoted"
"I know they are bigoted, you know they are bigoted, but you mustn't say it"
Instead it was all "you can't tell voters they are wrong".
"You can't tell them they are bigoted"
"I know they are bigoted, you know they are bigoted, but you mustn't say it"
And because everybody had to tiptoe around the bigotry of voters from then on - even endorsing it - with repeated offerings of red meat, the bigotry was NEVER confronted.
So no, it wasn't remainer's fault - we were the people standing up for foreigners, and our own rights to retain FoM
It was all those who never stood up for Freedom of Movement and all its benefits. That's why we never got a soft Brexit. We could have had one in a trice.
It was OPTION 1 on the SET MENU for chrissakes.
It was OPTION 1 on the SET MENU for chrissakes.
Also see this great thread by @EmporersNewC https://twitter.com/EmporersNewC/status/1336031012699189252
