The public mood has shifted ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum - Yorkshire Post Letters
From: Peter Packham, Chair, Roundhay, Leeds for Europe.
Peter Auty claims talk of a return to the European Union is threatening to "destroy the meaning of democracy” (The Yorkshire Post, May 25). On the contrary, debating the great issues of our time is precisely what politicians are elected to do.
Furthermore, we as citizens are entitled to lobby for change and, if we win sufficient public support, demand change in the name of democracy.
It’s clear the public mood has shifted ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum (June 23). A decade of economic friction, red tape, and broken promises has left Brexit enormously unpopular.
When politicians discuss repairing our relationship with Europe - including the prospect of rejoining - they are not subverting democracy; they are reflecting the genuine, changed sentiment of the British public.
Mr Auty fears a sudden, undemocratic reversal of the 2016 result. He need not worry. No serious pro-European is suggesting we rejoin the EU without absolute democratic consent. While the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has suggested a clear manifesto commitment could suffice - and constitutionally, a general election result always trumps an advisory referendum - the reality is that rejoining would likely require a further popular vote.
Not least because it would also require the 27 member states of the EU to unanimously agree, too. No narrow, divisive 52-48 margin will suffice for them. No serious, credible politician deserving our respect would ever accept that as a sufficient mandate for constitutional upheaval and change.
True democracy is not a snapshot frozen in time; it is the right of a nation to learn from its experiences and change its mind. It is also the right of younger generations - unable to have their say on our country’s future a decade ago because of their age - to finally do so now.
Those of us attending the National Rejoin March in London on Saturday, June 20 - just three days before the anniversary - will be heading forwards, not backwards. Further details can be found at marchforrejoin.co.uk.