Burnham - rejoin Europe in one shape or form?

I thought the one good thing we might get when we left, was a better light bulb 😂

I don't think there will be a referendum either.

I think it will be a manifesto key platform and each party will set out their position and the public will vote accordingly.

Whichever party wins the election then has the mandate to for forward with the EU manifesto plan. That may or may not be AB.

"Over 80% of Labour, Libs and greens support re-entry"

The majority of MPs in 2016 were remainers so no change there.

It was the people that voted leave not parliament

MT62

I thought the one good thing we might get when we left, was a better light bulb 😂

Me too. The new ones are very confusing and so expensive.

Come back the 40w, 60w & 100w - I understood them 😀

I stocked up on 60s & 100w bulbs for my reading lamps before they discontinued them.
These low energy/LED give me a headache
Kept an old vacuum as well for deep cleaning.

A government is not legally required to hold a referendum to rejoin EU.

Didn't know that LemonJam.
Thanks.
😊

Go on, go on, go on fancythat, give us your best BREXIT bonus, if you are so inclined.

Absolutely not a chance.
See above.

The conservative Party pledged to revisit membership of the EU terms in its 2025 election manifesto. The party then passed the EU referendum Act 2015 to establish a legal basis to hold a referendum should Cameron wish to do so. It had to do this as Parliament has sovereignty to make such decisions and Cameron wanted a different approach.

Cameron continued over 2025 and into early 2026 to oversee renegotiations of the terms of EU membership as intended. Cameron's expectation was to implement the membership changes he secured. Cameron fully expected a Remain result as did George Osborne. Both miscalculated as remain won by a small margin.

The referendum result was and remains none legally binding due to the overriding principle that parliament has sovereignty* Cameron was shocked and quickly decided to resign.

AB is testing the waters and public opinion in announcing various possibilities re EU relationship and what public appetite there is to rejoin the EU. If and when confident he will set out in detail LP manifesto pledge to rejoin the EU. If LP voted in at next GE that parliament will have sovereignty to implement the rejoin EU proposals. No referendum required

Cameron's strategy was to get public approval to stop division within his party on EU matters and then to establish his authority on renegotiated membership terms. AB is a different kettle of fish. He seeks to gain majority public and party opinion first then set out more specific manifesto pledge, then campaigning at next GE. If voted in the LP, or any other party that wins next GE, will then have sovereignty to rejoin EU or continue with Brexit

Referendum not legally required, would require a legal basis to do so and is not legally binding

Cameron's 2015 manifesto and 2016 not 2025/2026 🥱

Casdon

Meandrogrog

Casdon

The government are giving the electorate the choice Meandrogrog. People who want to stay out of the EU won’t vote for them, people who want closer ties with Europe will. There is nothing undemocratic about that, and if the tide has turned, people who voted leave will have their turn to be aggrieved, as those who wanted to stay in the EU have had theirs. C’est la vie.

The government gave the electorate the choice in 2016 Casdon. It is undemocratic in the extreme to try to overturn the result. The electorate were told the result would be binding.

I am absolutely sure this would be your exact argument if Remain had won!

I agree with the poster who said why rehash it all. The government should just leave it be and focus on other priorities .

I think your heart thinks it must be undemocratic, rather than your head Meandrogrog. It isn’t. If it was, other parties would not be proposing changes to the status quo either.

Yes it is.

That is correct about the referendum. In fact referendums are never legally binding. The Brexit referendum was abysmally handled by Cameron and was wrong in so many ways.

The best way snd I think what almost certainly will happen is a number of progressive parties will have joining the EU in one form or another on their manifesto.

At present a very large majority of supporters of the ,left wing parties are keen to re-join one way or another. Only the Tory rump and reform voters (and not all of them) want to stay outside the EU community.

If the Tory and Reform UK parties continue with stay outside EU community position they mirror a minority of the electorate opinion. That weakens their chances at the next GE. Their position, their choice, informed electorate chooses party of choice and votes accordingly, election outcome known, winning party assumes sovereign rule re joining or remaining outside EU.

That's democracy. Cameron can and should have gone about the membership of EU much differently. His decision to hold a referendum was one of the worst PM decisions in modern history. Even Boris and Michael Gove were shocked and stunned for days. They also thought Remain vote would win out, and planned then to put an opposition platform against Cameron.

Even Boris and Michael Gove were shocked and stunned for days. They also thought Remain vote would win out, and planned then to put an opposition platform against Cameron.

Which is why they had absolutely NO PLAN AT ALL for how leaving the EU would be achieved...

I so agree MaizieD- and look at what a terrible BREXIT deal Boris et all negotiated- dire. Which underpins Cameron's disastrous decision to hold the referendum in the first place.....

If posters are correct and it is more a left wing thing to rejoin the EU how would they collaborate with what is beginning to look like an increasingly right leaning EU?

No plan and no BREXIT bonuses.

Interesting point GG13

Here is the latest YouGov poll, which is split by party.
www.google.com/goto?url=CAESmQEB6zswFau6CculaFGDhCtLKfFtm_jeTqHaVZQnq_TK0jVzilX8B6gvCe5ALaXcKAtK8jeZK4QiKaD6qNT2z4FNeQz1CxaFrKGbblV2WPL6DMnTayTKS4_CBLsutCrR1UAU6QInmBBkPHbrlGWnc913LAOADbnBMFs3l0DNWoEegmhcwxyWKJXVIFbdFblv2rW20SnKD-85Uv8

It’s not only voters from left of centre parties who support rejoining, or closer ties according to this, there’s been a significant shift of people who voted leave.

Thanks for the link Casdon- it sure is not just left or centre voters wish we had never left EU.

It is the case Conservative Party and Reform UK currently do not support rejoining. Its their choice whether to take that risk in retaining this as a manifesto pledge come next GE in context that strongly indicate the majority of the electorate support rejoining.

GrannyGravy13

If posters are correct and it is more a left wing thing to rejoin the EU how would they collaborate with what is beginning to look like an increasingly right leaning EU?

Quote from The Observer

“Sceptics may say the rise of the European hard right in the past decade makes rejoining less tempting. But if they look beyond Europe’s horizons they should see this as a reason to rejoin, not stay out. Reform, Restore, the AfD and France’s National Rally are of a piece with Trumpism and Putinism. The EU is the world’s best defence against the malice and misinformation on which they thrive. It needs and deserves Britain’s support as much as Britain would benefit from membership”

WWM2. I'm in the camp the EU is not just the world's best defence against Trumpism and Putinism and the malice and misinformation they promote and on whcih they thrive.

Thats is apart from all the other reasons the UK is best in rather than out.

Sarnia

The EU is not the EU we voted to leave.

The far right, AdF are making great strides in Germany and Marine Le Pen is 36% ahead of her rivals to win the French Presidential election next year. Do we want the UK to follow suit?

Last year our GDP was higher than France, Italy and Germany so why do we need to rejoin the EU?

Europe are our allies and in this increasingly uncertain world we need to work together where defence is concerned but to go cap in hand and rejoin, NO!

Great strides in Germany ? No !
It is a small faction.
East Germany former Soviet Union.

When we left the EU the assumption was that trade with America would increase. Who could have foresaw a mad man like Trump becoming president. Someone was talking about Brexit on Sky News the other night and said what is the point of banging on about it because it hasn’t affected him in any way. And I just thought, how selfish; have you no thought for the many people and businesses it has affected. Aren’t we now desperate to get fuel from the EU because they have the sense to store more than a few days fuel?