Well, this Brexit malarkey is leaving us all in a right pickle, isn't it? Is there really anyone, on either side of the debate, that can genuinely say they are happy how things have turned out? I'd say probably very few indeed.
I'll be honest; back on referendum day I voted to remain, and I still think that's what we should do. But in the lead up to the referendum I actually paid much more attention to what the leave campaign said than the remain campaign. This was for the primary reason that I believe in a referendum whereby the choice is between "keeping things as they are" or "changing things" the onus is on the latter to prove their case.
I put aside personalities, and focused on the issues, and the arguments for leaving. I listened, I read, I paid attention. I heard so many arguments. I was open to being convinced. And, despite all that, they never did convince me.
Looking back at the hoo-ha of the last 33 months, it seems to me there were four potential outcomes by the end of the process. And, as close as we may be to the end, we're not quite there.
As surely the whole point of a decision like this is to ensure the country is in the best possible position it could be, I'll rank them in order of how good they are for the country...
...bearing in mind what I said above, Number 1 may surprise you...
1 - A Brexit deal that leaves us better off than we are.
Yes. You read that right. Me, a Remoaner, saying this is the best possible outcome? Well, yes, clearly it would be. Had the Government managed to somehow negotiate a deal that leaves the country in a position whereby it would be better to leave Europe than remain in Europe this has to be the best possible outcome. That is entirely logical. Had the government managed to get us such a deal, I would willingly have conceded that I was wrong. The country would be in a stronger position. But, sadly, no such deal has been made.
2 - Remaining in the EU.
In other words; just staying as we are. We would be neither better off, nor worse off, than we currently are.
3 - a bad deal.
In other words, a deal that would leave us worse off than we currently are. This is, sadly, exactly what Theresa May's deal is. It would leave us locked in to many aspects of the EU, but as we would not be members of the EU we would get no say in to what happens when rules change. The EU would say to us "jump" and we would say "how high?". Pointless. The EU has also made it clear that this is the only deal on the table. Therefore, the deal at #1 is impossible.
4 - no deal.
Crashing out of the EU with no deal would be a complete disaster. Anyone that thinks it would be a good idea must have rocks in their heads. I've no desire to go in the the full whys and wherefores; there are plenty of articles out there on the web. Read them.
Conclusion.
Given the absence of a deal as described in #1, it is clear that the best option for the country is to just scrap the whole Brexit malarkey, and remain in the EU. It is the only option currently available to us that would mean that the country is not worse off than we are now.
