Brexit: EU referendum was toxic, devisive and destructive. Re-running it would be a mistake
If polling has revealed anything to us over the course of the last few politically turbulent years it is that the results of all and any polling should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Even the most casual of observers will almost certainly be able to recall one amongst myriad polls that have been wide of the mark. In this era of fast-paced information dissemination, compelling arguments can be made by good faith actors and nefarious trouble makers alike, meaning that, as one Boris Johnson once said: when the herd moves, it moves fast.
Which is why today’s megapoll commissioned by pro-EU campaign group Best For Britain must also be placed on the ‘noted with caution’ pile. It suggests that should the now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham not adopt a more sympathetic approach to rejoining the European Union than his party would likely sustain losses across the region.
Mr Burnham has intimated that he believes the Brexit debate will be different this time, insisting that he is committed to an ‘open and honest conversation.’ That may well be true of Mr Burnham, but he knows all-too-well that he cannot control the whole debate. It is naive at best to suggest the dirty tactics, lies, deceptions and sleights-of-hand deployed previously will not be used again.
Make no mistake, the in-out question of European Union membership was toxic, divisive and destructive. Relationships and friendships were ruined by the referendum.
Re-running that referendum would almost certainly be a misstep. It would be all-consuming. Every ounce of political bandwidth and operational capacity would be consumed by the binary proposition, leaving the remainder of the Government’s ideas, ambitions and intentions to wither on the vine, hindering growth and progress.