STRAIGHT TALK
MARK BARNES: Brexit was a terrible mistake and there is nothing easy about getting it rectified
David Cameron quit as UK prime minister on June 24 2016, following the marginal (52%) popular vote in favour of Britain leaving the EU and acknowledging the will of the people, who voted against what he once somewhat understatedly said would cause "economic self-harm" to Britain. That referendum divided the nation then, and it remains divided today. It was a mistake. And it will never be repaired. Less than a month after his resignation, his successor, Theresa May, promised a "bold, new, positive role for Britain" as "we leave the EU". The complexity of the task wasn’t obvious then. It is now. As May struggles about in the treacle of the mess she took on, the "I told you so" people are having a field day. It’s hard to imagine that her speech’s ambitions will happen, or that she’ll even survive. The leader of the opposition in the UK is making a meal of it, seeking to regain some of his lost popularity on a promise of radical transformation. Few parties nowadays advance beyond the po...
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