I have reluctantly concluded that there needs to be greater regulation of the veracity of claims made by registered participants in political campaigns.
It’s real aim is to create the circumstances in which Brexit can be halted – without the all-but-impossible holding of a pre-March 29 plebiscite.
Plus: Those who worked with him at Vote Leave have a duty of care to Darren Grimes. And: Don’t try to out-stare Raab.
I’d relax the limits significantly if not totally, but insist on near real-time transparency from campaigns over their permitted donors.
The internal and external threats to the integrity of our elections have intensified, but the regulator responsible does not appear to have upped its game in response.
“It is not about Remain or Leave,” the Observer journalist replies – while notably failing to say “yes”.
Lavish campaign spending does not guarantee electoral success. If it did, Brexit wouldn’t be happening. And Theresa May would now have a majority.
It backed nationalisation in the ’40s. It opposed Thatcher’s economic policy in the ’80s. It supported the Euro in the ’90s. And now it wants Single Market membership.
It’s a day to think of the people who dreamed of it and the people who dreaded it alike. And to embrace the renewal of our democracy.
If you hate Michael Gove, you’ll love this book. If you think Theresa May is a bit of a calculating minx, you’ll have your suspicions confirmed.
The world changes in many ways, but the rules of modern campaigns are still defined by Clinton’s success in 1992.
Funding for EU programmes in the UK will be maintained until 2020 – just as Vote Leave promised.
The other popular Remain argument – that the result was too close to provide a valid mandate – is also bogus.
If Brussels – and our own ‘Continuity Remainers’ – thought Britain could yet be bullied into staying, our chances of a good deal evaporate.
Of course there’s grief in being outvoted. But consider for a moment that for many Leave voters that has been a lifelong experience.