Democracy - under threat or alive and healthy?

If you want to know what democracy looks like, yesterday was it. 700,000 ordinary people giving up their weekend, travelling from all over the country and abroad, marching in solidarity against liars and those who would steal power by deception at the election booth.

In the maelstrom of emotion of the last two years, one constant thread has been the argument that we must respect the will of “The People” along with urgent and sometimes aggressive assertions that anyone resisting Brexit is anti-democracy. We must all have searched our own hearts and motivations repeatedly to see if this is possibly true.

But yesterday finally settled that question – because who are we, the 700,000, if we are not “The People”?

"The People" is such a problematic term because of exactly this. You can never define who exactly is in and who is out. The people who voted two years ago but have since died - are they still "The People"? The people that were too young then but are now of voting age - are they not yet part of "The People"? What about people who voted one way two years ago and have since changed their mind - are they still "The People"? Or do they not count any more?

This is why democracy can't be pinned down to a single moment in time. It is everything that distinguishes our society from one such as North Korea. Yes we all have the vote and that's a crucially important part of it. But true democracy also requires a free press and the right to oppose. It doesn't grant the right to overturn decisions straight off. So of course Parliament has been on the horns of a dilemma. (The misinformation and illegality of the Leave campaigns along with abusive voter-manipulation by Cambridge Analytica and foreign meddling by Russia should have given MPs enough material to question the validity of what was, after all, a non-binding referendum, but that's another issue.) So, no, a democracy does not make it possible or desirable to overide a decision made at the ballot-box with casual superiority. But it does grant the right, indeed the duty, for citizens to express concerns that a wrong turn has been taken, so that if enough people (ie the new majority) want to change a decision, they can. Otherwise there is no legal basis for changing anything, ever. Every decision once made would be set in stone for all time.

People who still believe Leave is the right course of action are fully entitled to continue to support it and to argue for it. And democracy demands that they should do so, with intergrity and energy. And despite all the frustrations, they should not be abused or ridiculed by anyone for doing so – so long as they campaign with honesty. Ultimately, whichever argument attracts more backers will carry the day. Two years ago, Leave was in the ascendancy and as a result, won the right to pursue their desired course of action. After 28 months of confusion and back-tracking, revelations of crime and delusion, a cabinet at loggerheads with itself and still no clear plan of action, the Remain star is again on the rise. And who knows? Maybe Remain will yet overtake Leave as the preferred course of action for the majority of “The People”. In which case, it must be taken seriously.

So don't be afraid for democracy. This decision will only be overturned if it becomes the majority wish. In which case, democracy is fully served and serving. “The People”, by definition, would be truly in the driving seat through a “People's Vote”. But for the sake of our country and for repect of each other, if the vote comes, let us all do our utmost to see two campaigns based on honesty and transparency.


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