Northern Ireland

Stephen Farry: People's Vote would not be a betrayal of 2016 Brexit referendum

Stephen Farry, deputy leader of the Alliance Party. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA
Stephen Farry, deputy leader of the Alliance Party. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Stephen Farry, deputy leader of the Alliance Party. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA

BREXIT is becoming an unprecedented act of self-harm.

The bottom line for Northern Ireland must be to bank the backstop. This is the very least required to protect the Good Friday Agreement and to respect the east-west and north-south economic and social dimensions that are critical for this region.

However, there is no such thing as a good Brexit. Any opportunity to reconsider Brexit itself should be considered.

There are only three courses of action.

First, any form of Brexit requires a withdrawal agreement. That requires the backstop. Any attempts to renegotiate a different Brexit still comes back to this central reality. Any and all versions of the future relationship depend upon this foundation.

Second, a no deal scenario would be catastrophic, especially for Northern Ireland, with major implications for our politics, economy, and security.

Stephen Farry: 'Any opportunity to reconsider Brexit itself should be considered'
Stephen Farry: 'Any opportunity to reconsider Brexit itself should be considered' Stephen Farry: 'Any opportunity to reconsider Brexit itself should be considered'

A general election, especially given Labour’s delusions around negotiating a different withdrawal agreement and its platitudes of a jobs Brexit, would struggle to resolve matters.

Therefore, the third and only other coherent, feasible and democratic alternative is a People’s Vote.

The 2016 referendum may have been the biggest UK vote to date. But it was a stark choice between a clearly defined Remain and an undefined Leave option, which could be interpreted as a broad range of scenarios.

It was a snapshot in time based on limited information.

Questions persist regarding the fairness and transparency of the process. Many false and unobtainable promises were made, including the health funding pledge on the side of a bus.

Furthermore, the complexities, risks and impacts of Brexit upon so many areas of life are now more apparent.

Democracy is an ongoing and active process. It cannot be a betrayal of the people who voted in 2016 to now check in again with the people again given what is happened.

We must also consider that well over a million young people have now joined the electorate. There is consistent evidence to suggest that there may now be a majority across the UK for Remain.

Indeed, it would be a tragedy if the UK ultimately left the EU, and in particular went over the cliff-edge in a no-deal context, if a majority of people don’t want that to happen.

Any referendum at this stage would require an extension of the Article 50 time frame. It would take around 24 weeks from start to finish. Parliament would need to legislate for it and set the question.

The optimal approach would be a multi-preference vote between: Remain, the proposed deal, and no deal. Remain must be a choice. While unpalatable, it is unlikely that any referendum would be viewed as legitimate and conclusive without a no deal option. The Electoral Commission would inevitably advise as such.

It is said that a new referendum would fuel further division.

But the UK is already badly divided. It is far better to heal on a more rational platform rather than slavishly following an approach that makes us all worse off.