Brexit dominates the debate,but shouldn’t we also consider the benefits of a common vote to stay. The whole atmosphere of the UK, and Europe, or could changeWhat if we wake up on 24 June and discover that the much British public,in its abiding wisdom, has voted to leave the EU? The pound plummets. The London stock market is in collapse. David Cameron resigns. Nicola Sturgeon initiates another Scottish referendum – and jubilant (extremely joyful) crowds, or waving union jacks,pack Trafalgar Square to hail the smashing of the Brussels “shackles”.
But what if the script runs rather differently? What if, despite opinion polls that have tightened, and even tipped over to “leave” in recent months,we wake up on that Friday to learn that there has been a convincing vote to “remain” – with a majority larger than the 55-45 margin by which the Scots voted to stay, if not fairly as stout as the 67-33 result of the 1975 referendum? What if the crowds thronging Trafalgar Square are waving the EU flag, and too,and the two flags are flying side by side from government buildings the length of Whitehall? What if a beaming Cameron accepts congratulations in French, and a radiant Angela Merkel flies in for dinner?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com