to ask why several prominent members seem to have vanished?!?

In any case you should be working behind the bar in The Argy right now.

How easy it is for a thread to drift off to the debating level of the Argy. How difficult it is for any serious debate on Politics to be maintained. The three who have gone did make serious contributions to political debate and will be missed.

As someone who has been involved in politics for most of my life, I've debated health, education, taxation, defense, the legal system, the electoral system, local government, housing, etc, etc but now there is only one important issue for this country - brexit and the dangers it poses.

Sadly the brexit supporters have nothing positive to say and shut down debate with "we won, you lost, suck it up remoaners, its the will of the people blah, blah, blah". Perhaps that is why the three strongest pro-EU posters have just given up.

I hope we can on the GN Politics forum, continue to examine all aspects of the EU referendum and its consequences in an intelligent objective way.

I rather miss the links. if you have read something interesting or thought provoking, why not share it with others?

Hear hear, varian. You often say what I am thinking, but you say it better than I would, and more succinctly.

Yes, perfectly said Varian- thank you.

Other women often said to me in UK 'oh I don't believe in politics' - and the reply was 'so you don't believe about the NHS, Social Welfare and Justice, Workers' Rights, Education, Roads and transports, the environment, home and foreing diplomacy and security, collaboration and research, bit it medical or scientific, etc, etc, etc,'

If those things do no matter to you- then what does?

Yes, I have mentionned Pudding before on the Pet thread- she is indeed a very very rare cat.

Varian The Argy is not meant to be about debating, but about having a good time.
Feel free to continue the Brexit debate, of course it was really the three departed posters who carried it along, but no reason for you not to revive it if you choose.
Since it was mainly Remainers on that thread there was no reason for the three posters to ‘have just given up’.
I recommend you have a look at any Brexit threads to confirm what I have just said.

I don't think I realised just how old she is.

(Pudding I mean)

Aren’t most of us old Jalima?

Well it is rare indeed. We adopted here from a rescue- in 1992- and we were told by the vet she was 4 to 6 years old at the time (2 females with 10 kittens left by side of MWay in a taped cardboard box).

Sadly the brexit supporters have nothing positive to say and shut down debate with "we won, you lost, suck it up remoaners, its the will of the people blah, blah, blah". Perhaps that is why the three strongest pro-EU posters have just given up.

As one who feels very positive about Brexit, while still recognising its momentousness and why people are afraid of its consequences, I haven't spoken up out of fear of being called a bigot and a racist and various other non-complimentary things. I don't recall ever saying any of that stuff above.

Although it is the will of the majority of those who voted. That's a fact, not an argument.

I voted remain baggs but I still like and respect you and any one else on here who voted leave.

jura, were there lots of women who said they didn't 'believe' in politics. I find that hard to understand. Only one woman of my acquaintance doesn't 'do' news or politics to one degree or another.

1000s did not vote because they were not allowed to. Do look at the Chart- like 10s of 1000s of expats in EU who are directly affected and were not allowed to vote.

And we do know now, as a fact, that that tiny majority was won on lies and fraudulent manipulation from many sides. As Farage himself said, a 48/52 majority would be unfinished business for sure. With all the new evidence available, this is even more so. Fact.

Do look at the Chart:

www.indy100.com/article/brexit-leave-remain-52-48-per-cent-voter-turnout-electoral-register-charts-7399226

And anyhow, a Referendum in our own Sovereign Parliamentary Democracy, has always been and will be, advisory. Cameron had no right whatsoever to make the promise that it would be implemented- none wahtsoever- according to our own... see above.

Sigh!

Yet Corbyn refuses to try to change it

<sigh, sigh and thrice sigh>
Here we go a Brexiting - again

Jura May well mix with women in the U.K. who don’t “do” politics, and be basing her observation on them. I am glad to say those of my acquaintance do.
And this comment sounds awfully like knocking us in the U.K. again - rich from a country where (some ) women only finally got the vote in 1971. One should not extrapolate from the particular to a sweeping generalisation.
As for expats not voting in the EU referendum?
One could say they had already voted, - with their feet.
It was the same for Scots who live and work south of the Border, we had no say in the Independence Referendum.
Same principle, same rules. I have no quarrel with that.

Maw that could be sung to ‘here we go gathering nuts in May’

Corbyn has been anti-EU for decades. Why would he change now?

Thank you, kitty. That is appreciated and reciprocated.

jura, I think if there were any illegality concerned it would have been shown up and acted upon by now. The frustration felt by people about the points you raise is probably similar to the frustration people like me began to feel about EU bureaucratic power over which we had no direct say. At least I could vote out David Cameron at some point. Not so Juncker et al.

I had been very pro-EU initially. The vote was about democracy for me. The referendum campaign, lies or otherwise, was irrelevant as far as my vote was concerned. My concern for democracy had already decided me.

Thank you for arguing those points, maw. I haven't the strength but I certainly don't feel I have done anything wrong by voting Leave.

MawBroon - I have lived all my adult life in the UK - so it is only natural that I base comments on experience. I am so grateful to those women actually- as they encouraged me to move to a more mixed area and to go back to full-time study aged 29- where I met many fabulous British women who were interested in the wider world and with whom it was a great pleasure to share info and ideas, opinions- from a wide spectrum.

There are many here who say the same btw- and yes, it was a real embarrassment to me re the vote only in 71- when I already lived in UK. I was frustrated all my life by the FPP system though- which meant that my vote always ended up in the bin (and I knew this as I voted) - which made 'having the right the vote' a bit meaningless.

Baggs, I am amazed that you would still stand by the vote with all the info available to date about the manipulation and irregularities committed on many, many fronts- proven and fact.

What does 'democracy' mean? Many democratic systems have VERY different types of 'democracy'- defined by their Constitution, written or otherwise. Switzerland has a system of direct Democracy, where a Referendum is binding. The UK has its own Sovereign PARLIAMENTARY Democracy- where major decisions and laws are made by our elected Parliamentary Representatives, our MPs - both democratic, in their own way. Cameron By-Passing our Sovereign Parliament in promising a binding Referendum, which by out own laws and statute can only ever be advisory- was plain anti our own system of Democracy. he had no right to do so, and no mandate.

Sigh! Indeed

I can't disagree with the principle that ex-pats who have lived abroad for over 15 years shouldn't have a vote on what happens in the UK. I can remember being furious in 1975 when I couldn't vote in that referendum because I'd moved to Germany a few weeks earlier. Though if I had been able to vote then, I'd have been on the losing side twice.

It's an absolute b****r in my opinion that the referendum wasn't simply advisory - ruddy Cameron has a lot to answer for - but we all knew when voting that the result would be implemented. We remainers lost, so have no option but to respect that. As for those who simply couldn't be bothered to vote, their views just aren't relevant.

Do you know, this is quite pleasant. Being able to post on a (quasi) political thread without anticipating the inevitable sarky comeback from a "prominent" poster!

I’ll drink to that Maggie Cheers!