04 Feb, 2019
Letter in the New European
The New European 31 January - 6 February 2019 published a letter from London4Europe Committee member Michael Romberg. It commented on a letter in the previous week's TNE that had proposed a two-stage referendum. Michael's letter as published reads:
Graeme White (TNE #129) is correct to call for a two-stage referendum. But asking "Leave or Remain?" as the first question repeats the problems of 2016 where the Leave vote was the sum of incompatible options.Round one should ask people to choose the best Brexit option to go forward as the Brexit champion to the next Round. All Brexit options that have widespread popular support should be in the first round of the 2019 referendum, no matter how unpalatable. That way everyone gets a fair chance at winning - necessary for the country to heal afterwards.In the end, only one Brexit plan could be implemented. So the final question is: "Shall we follow this one Brexit plan or Remain in the EU?"
You can read more about how to structure a two-stage referendum in the blogs "Two choices - two dates" and "the right order of the questions", in an article with a clear diagram from Professor Winters of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and his explanation of the paradoxes of a three-way vote. A further blog argues that a three-way choice is the inevitable result of the strategic choices made by the People's Vote campaign. A forthcoming blog looks at whether Remainers can game a two-stage referendum.
Articles on this page reflect the views of the author and not necessarily of London4Europe.
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