Above, the famous red coach used by the Leave campaign back in the summer of 2016.
So, Brexit has been done!
Hmm……
Doesn’t feel like it does it!
Now of course, the Remoaners are fond of saying that the UK’s behaviour since the use of Article 50 has resulted in the EU being relieved that the UK has withdrawn and the idea of the UK returning is greeted with horror!
What would be greeted with horror would be a UK government seeking to re-enter the EU following a General Election and change of government! For this to happen such a commitment would have to appear in a party’s election manifesto and I would be quite happy to place a very large wager with any Reader who cares to, that Labour’s Manifesto at the upcoming general election WILL NOT CONTAIN ANY SUCH PLEDGE!
HOWEVER:
That does NOT mean the issue will rear it’s very ugly head in the not too far distant future!
There are a number of factors that tend to suggest that the European Union may make a formal offer to the United Kingdom to rejoin!
The formal offer may take the form of a formal invitation with a set of terms (subject to negotiation) that would include the requirement that a referendum would have to be held in the UK to establish whether or not the UK electorate would wish to rejoin!
You see, contrary to the Remoaners wailings the UK was a most excellent member of the EU! For a start it obeyed and enforced all Directives and Regulations to the letter! With one notable exception, the UK paid studious attention to and complied with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights! The one exception was on the subject of enfranchising convicted prisoners!
The UK was a large net contributor to the EU’s coffers and other members welcomed the UK’s involvement.
They were genuinely upset when the UK left.
The one aspect of which all MEPs would fervently attest to would be, “Non, je ne regrette rien!” This in relation to a certain Mr Nigel Farage and his fellow MEPs!
The EU could however prevent a further recurrence of this – at least in the same numbers. You see, originally EU member states were allocated a set number of MEPs and it was up to the individual member states to determine the precise method of election – the UK used the First Past the Post method. As a result, UKIP gained MEPs as a result of the EU required use of the the D’Hondt method of PR!
IF the EU proposed and implemented a reform that allowed EU member states to determine their own method of election to the European Parliament, then the Labour government would likely go back to the use of the First Past the Post system!
One of the factors influencing the EU offering the UK a rapid path to rejoin is the existing situation in Europe and the prospect of a disruptive Trump presidency.
Were Sir Keir Starmer to take up the EU’s offer and legislate for a referendum on rejoining it is likely he would adopt the same policy that Harold Wilson did at the first confirming referendum in 1975 – sitting on the fence and suspending cabinet collective responsibility.
You see, Sir Keir would state that the democratic and proper thing to do would be to put the EU’s offer to the British People and allow them to decide!
Of course, re-entering the EU would mean adopting the Euro!
This would strengthen the European currency and would enable a more successful transition to a Central Bank Digital Currency! The central bank in question being the European Central Bank!