Nationalists must keep their heads, when all others are losing theirs.

IF you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs Rudyard Kipling Chris Donnelly and Pete Baker have very diligently summed up the problems (folly) with the immediate calls for a Border Poll. We are constitutionally and politically in no mans land. What most of us thought was going to be a narrow Remain win was shattered at 4:40 am on Friday morning with David Dimbleby’s call that “the decision this country made in 1975 has been …

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Devolved legislatures and the EU

Jim Fitzpatrick drew our attention to an interesting possibility the other day: (extract from Chapter 7 of The process of withdrawing from the European Union) The key issue here is the competency of Westminster to amend the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006 (and 1998 to the extent that it is still in force) to remove the obligation to act within EU law without the consent of the relevant devolved legislature …

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Hilary Benn has been sacked as Shadow Foreign Secretary

We had the Tories, now on to Labour as the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn sacks Hilary Benn from the Shadow Cabinet; Newspaper reports suggested Mr Benn had been encouraging shadow ministers to resign if Mr Corbyn ignored the result of the no confidence vote. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Corbyn “worked himself to the ground” during the four-month campaign. Senior Labour sources have also told the BBC that a significant number of shadow cabinet resignations were likely if Jeremy …

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Democracy: Referendums, Petitions, and a Reality Check for Leavers and Remainers Alike

2.5 million people have now signed a petition calling for a second referendum. I won’t be signing it. It’s pathetic. We had the highest turnout in an election for 24 years on Thursday. I think collectively we’ve made a bad decision. But it’s the decision we made. You know what, in democracy, you win some and you lose some. Sometimes the decisions are momentous. There we go. Grow up and get over it. Where were those 2.5 million people when …

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Post Brexit word from Eric Cantona [PS, Will Grigg’s on fire]

That would be Eric Cantona as you have never seen him before, nor are likely to ever again… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

The Irish can show the English how to handle nationalism better in post-Brexit Europe

The temptation is strong to go apocalyptic over Brexit. A slightly poorer UK with the threat of fragmentation hanging over it is not the ideal backdrop for stability on Northern Ireland. But here’s a thought. Why not set good example? After all, our experience of instability is unrivalled in modern western Europe. We know the score. Let’s pick our way  through Stephen Collins’ prophetic piece in the Irish Times . There is  some irony in the fact that on the …

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REVERSE, REVERSE

Just the very quickest of thought experiments:  So, I’d be grateful for help in thinking this through. Namely, whether a pro-Remain party (maybe Labour under Jarvis or Chuka, or maybe a reborn Libs), or two, might find themselves with the seat balance after an Autumn snap election.  Standing, say, on a ‘Let’s Not Leave’ platform. Or, for that matter, even in the next General Election. I would imagine the three possible circumstances then are these: (1) If Article 50 hasn’t been triggered …

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Boris Johnson as the next Winston Churchill: not necessarily a complement

The Brexit victory has brought forward its leading light in Boris Johnson. Many now expect him to become the next Tory leader with Cameron having announced his resignation. Against that it must be said that the Tory party does not always forgive the slayer of its previous leader: Michael Heseltine never became leader; though Thatcher herself did. Boris Johnson elicits adulation amongst many of the grass roots. He is perceived despite his very posh roots as somehow a man of …

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So what happens now?

Well, the markets are currently having their say, but I would strongly advise that we look at them in a week and a half and see if they recover from the initial shock. Now for Andy’s predictions on what happens from here. Negotiating our way out The next step is Article 50 notice to leave the EU, which by the look of it requires an Act of Parliament, which may or may not happen before the summer recess in July. …

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Paisley: The only solution for those of us who believe in democratic accountability is to Vote Leave

The European Referendum campaign, on both sides, has focused largely economic issues and immigration. Those are important and valid issues which deserve to be fully debated, but they are not the only factors people should weigh up when deciding how to cast their vote. Even the most ardent Europhiles are usually forced to admit there is a democratic deficit in the European Union. They will usually accept too that public awareness of the European Union institutions is low, but of …

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The potential impact of #brexit upon the Totality of Relationships

Recently, in a conversation with an old school friend, who is very much a nationalist and supports a united Ireland, told me that while he was voting for remain, if he were of a more cynical bent he’d be voting tactically for Leave, and speculated that there would be nationalists who would do so. I’ve noticed a lot of other people making similar comments, here on Slugger, on social media and in social circles. This led me to do something I …

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The left wing case for leaving the EU…

On Tuesday the 14th I had the opportunity to speak at a debate on the European referendum in Queen’s Students’ Union, hosted by the Socialist Party. Over 150 people packed the room to hear arguments which were completely different from those reported every day in the mainstream press. The “Brexit” debate has been correctly described by filmmaker Ken Loach as a squabble between between “those who wish to exploit workers.” Our debate was a coming together of those on the left …

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17 reasons to leave the EU

17 reasons to leave the EU Leaving the European Union would: 1 – Restore UK freedom & sovereignty and disentangle us from `ever closer political union` – politicians have given sovereignty away to undemocratic EU institutions such as the unelected European Commission who are effectively the EU Executive and wield the power. Sovereignty & liberty lies with the people and their ability to elect an alternative government who should have the ability and powers granted to alter the laws of …

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Start your #Brexit playlist with “Should I stay or should I go now?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLQJVKP3YlM Please do share your own favourite soundtracks appropriate to the times that are in it… [cutting and pasting the URL will embed the YouTube video] And we will add them all to Slugger’s Brexit Playlist (and here on Spotify) so you can play them anywhere, anytime… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the …

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Ashcroft focusing on the final week reveals nervousness amongst #EUref voters…

Interesting observations from Lord Ashcroft’s final focus groups: The closeness of the race is “the reason I can’t make my mind up. It’s a lot of responsibility, and I really want to get it right.” Still, most people were determined to do their democratic duty: “It means I’m more likely to try and make a decision. If one side was running away with it, I might let it pass me by;” “I usually think, if you haven’t got an opinion, …

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EU Referendum and the count process

We are now just a few days away from polling day and I thought it would be useful to put up some information about the count process in Northern Ireland for the EU referendum. Unlike other referenda that have been held in the past, Northern Ireland will count through the night and in 8 different centres across the province. You can see the estimated declaration times for the rest of the UK here, but I have compiled the Northern Ireland …

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#EURef in grave danger of setting down its own “poisonous foundations”?

I’m struck by this optimistic note from Ruth Dudley Edwards… Narrow-minded nationalism is being left behind. We have slowly evolved “a more civilised discourse” and we are much better people for it. She argues that Ireland has become a much more civilised place because it has committed itself (if not always in the slow, patient Scandinavian style) to conversation more than confrontation. The contrast with Britain just now could hardly be more stark. Of course, Britain is, as Ruth points …

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EU Referendum: “At the start of the campaign I was relaxed over a Brexit vote.”

Interesting piece in the Guardian from Simon Jenkins who, by his own admission, has “long been a Eurosceptic”.  Although, as he also points out, “that is not the same as being a leaver.”  For a start he is equally critical of the ‘Leave’ and the ‘Remain’ campaigns – an assessment I broadly agree with. Here’s what he has to say on the ‘Remain’ campaign When marching to the remain drum, I have been shocked at the mendacity of “project fear”. …

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Doesn’t allegiance to the Republic of Easter Week require Brexit?

For all his political career Jeremy Corbyn opposed Europe. He stood against Europe in the 1975 referendum and repeatedly cast his Commons’ vote against EU Treaties. For the Islington North MP and the hard left, the EU was a committedly capitalist project to be smashed.  The Corbyn conversion to the European plan is symbolic of the erosion and slow death of left-wing euroscepticism. Under the cover of worker rights and free movement of labour, many on the traditional left have …

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Remain must look to more trusted and well-regarded figures to get #EURef over the line

Shortly before polling day in last year’s Marriage Equality referendum one of the Irish national daily newspapers ran an opinion piece by a marketing/messaging expert evaluating the Yes and No campaigns to that point. Though he had several criticisms of those of us on Yes side and even suggested that the Yes campaign was putting the outcome in unnecessary doubt, the subtext to his article seemed to be: this would have been a whole lot better if he had been …

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