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Category: EU Referendum

Mawkish nursery games. It’s time to leave the Second World War in the history books

Mawkish nursery games. It’s time to leave the Second World War in the history books

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Sir Winston Churchill died in January 1965. He was accorded a state funeral, as befitted the man who embodied Britain’s struggle in the Second World War, and the country poured out its emotion for a giant of the age.  An album of his speeches even made the top ten.  His death marked the end of an era. Except it didn’t. As the years went by, British veneration of those who fought in that war only grew. “Their finest hour” became our foundation…

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At this critical time reflections on “Cultivating Democracy”

At this critical time reflections on “Cultivating Democracy”

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Occasionally I have planted a gorgeous looking plant; it has flowered briefly then died.  On digging it up I find the dreaded wine weevil or roots which have made no attempt to spread into the soil and find nutrition.  It is a reminder that nourishing the hidden roots is by far a gardener’s most important task.  A plant not strong and well anchored will be blown away by the winds, destroyed by frost or succumb to malicious bugs and parasites….

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Frustratingly there’ll be no results or even on the day polls until Sunday at 10pm

Frustratingly there’ll be no results or even on the day polls until Sunday at 10pm

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Those used to general elections in the UK and the drama of the exit poll coming out they might get a bit deflated to have reached 10 this evening to find the polls have closed and nothing is happening. We will have to wait until 10 p.m. on Sunday evening for the first results to come out. This is because of the strict rules about EU elections that no information on voting can be revealed until such time as as…

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Farage against the machine. Why the Brexit party’s chances are not as good as billed

Farage against the machine. Why the Brexit party’s chances are not as good as billed

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Nigel Farage’s second coming has been greeted with fanfares in the media, which love someone who courts publicity and is prepared to do whatever it takes to get it. His gaping maw can be viewed wherever you look, and he has so far been given an unimpeded run for his message that Brexit has been betrayed. His credentials as a strategic genius who delivered Brexit are taken as read. His brilliance as a politician is assumed. The imminent collapse of…

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Now the Electoral Commission orders an investigation into LeaveEU’s referendum finances

Now the Electoral Commission orders an investigation into LeaveEU’s referendum finances

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Independent The Indy is reporting that the Electoral Commission is to launch an investigation into the finances of Leave.EU. “The Electoral Commission has launched an investigation into spending at the European Union referendum by the campaign group Leave.EU, it has announced. The Commission says the investigation will focus on whether the Brexit-supporting campaign took “impermissible” donations and said there were “reasonable grounds to suspect that potential offences” may have been committed by the campaign. A spokesperson for the Commission said:…

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The polls did NOT get BREXIT wrong: Only 41% had REMAIN leads. 59% didn’t

The polls did NOT get BREXIT wrong: Only 41% had REMAIN leads. 59% didn’t

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Is it too much to expect Britain’s PR people to check simple facts? One of the enduring myths from June 23rd was that the polls got it wrong. Some did but most in the official campaign period didn’t as shown in the chart. That esteemed body that allegedly speaks for PR people, the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), has announced it is holding an inquiry into polling specifically referencing GE2015 and the June 23rd referendum. Certainly the former was…

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Five months after the vote and BREXIT is as divisive an issue as ever

Five months after the vote and BREXIT is as divisive an issue as ever

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Very few referendum voters have changed their minds As we get closer to the PM’s target invoke Article 50 date of March 31st we are going to get a lot more polling like that above. The fact is that the June 23rd outcome was very close, LEAVE chalked up 1.89% more than the 50% required for victory, and the nation remains split. The big issue in the next couple of weeks will be the Supreme Court hearing on whether the…

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