The dumbing down of the UK

[SueEllen]

What's the point of being called UKIP if you then offer a referendum where people can choose to remain in the EU? What no earth would they do then?

Surely their policy should be "leave the EU" not "hold a referendum".

One of the things UKIP, anti-EU Tories etc are claiming is that the EU is undemocratic. So just to withdraw without asking the electorate's first in their eyes is undemocratic.

What probably would happen if people voted " No" to withdrawing from the EU is they would hold referendums until they got the "right" answer.

[MicrosoftBob]

What probably would happen if people voted " No" to withdrawing from the EU is they would hold referendums until they got the "right" answer.

Something the EU has done repeatedly, most notably in Ireland

[d000hg]

One of the things UKIP, anti-EU Tories etc are claiming is that the EU is undemocratic. So just to withdraw without asking the electorate's first in their eyes is undemocratic.

Um, if you vote for a party who says "we're going to leave the EU as a core policy", it's not undemocratic when they do just that.

[SueEllen]

Um, if you vote for a party who says "we're going to leave the EU as a core policy", it's not undemocratic when they do just that.

Since you only have to get around 35-42% of the vote to be a majority government under FPTP, which means the vast majority of the electorate didn't vote for you, you could argue the other way.

[VectraMan]

Since you only have to get around 35-42% of the vote to be a majority government under FPTP, which means the vast majority of the electorate didn't vote for you, you could argue the other way.

Which is true of just about any government decision.

People moan that we didn't have a referendum on joining the EU, although we sort of did, so you could argue it's fair that we don't need one to leave. Personally I think a referendum is a terrible idea regardless of the pros and cons of the EU, as it creates enormous uncertainty. It might be better if we know that a UKIP government on May the whatever'th means leaving the EU and not have to arse about having another tedious debate in the lead up to another tedious referendum that probably won't settle the issue anyway.

[DodgyAgent]

Which is true of just about any government decision.

People moan that we didn't have a referendum on joining the EU, although we sort of did, so you could argue it's fair that we don't need one to leave. Personally I think a referendum is a terrible idea regardless of the pros and cons of the EU, as it creates enormous uncertainty. It might be better if we know that a UKIP government on May the whatever'th means leaving the EU and not have to arse about having another tedious debate in the lead up to another tedious referendum that probably won't settle the issue anyway.

Nonsense. The EU has little or no democratic accountability and it is pushing ever closer to consuming the democratic nation states within it. Just as we can vote out an incumbent government so should we be free to vote ourselves out of the EU.

[VectraMan]

Nonsense. The EU has little or no democratic accountability

What were the elections about last year then?

Just as we can vote out an incumbent government so should we be free to vote ourselves out of the EU.

Well if UKIP would man up and say "we will take Britain out the EU", then we are. Vote for UKIP if you want out of the EU.