Brexit - How Do You Feel?

The athlete crosses the finishing line. The first question they are asked by the TV presenter is "How do you feel?"

Emotions are so important.  Not least when making a purchase.  Let's say you're making an important decision like who is going to rewire your house.  You've got three quotes, and have whittled it down to two.  You may have conflicting advantages.  Or you may be totally confused.  You have to make a decision.  You have to go with your gut feel. Which electrician's offer feels more comfortable?

The same applies to voting.  As you put your cross on the voting paper, you may be confused, or having second thoughts.  But you feel you have to vote. Again, which option feels more comfortable? Or indeed which is less uncomfortable?

On a scale of +2 to -2, as you put your cross on the paper your feelings might be:

• Ecstatic
• Comfortable
• Confused
• Uncomfortable
• Dreading

Presumably you wouldn't vote for something you are dreading. But you might vote "uncomfortable" if the other option was worse.   It's how the options compare.

Then it's a matter of why?  It could be fear.  Perhaps fear of the risk of an economic downturn. Or fear of someone taking your job.

Would you feel happier to be "in control"? How about more money for the NHS on which you rely?

Of course you would feel happier.  That's how the Leave Bus captured hearts as well as minds.

That beat "Project Fear".



HOW DID YOU FEEL ON REFERENDUM DAY?

So how did you feel when you were in the polling booth on Referendum day?  What emotions did you feel?

The polling companies tend to ask questions like "Which was the most important factor?", with choices such as "immigration"  That's about thought, not feelings.

Did any ask questions about how people felt about immigration, control or econimics?  That would provide much better insight into how people are feeling and likely to vote.  (If the polling companies did, please add a comment.)



HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW?

In any case, how do you feel now?

This posting was prompted by a rather innocuous tweet that Cava in Tesco has gone up 40p, which the author blamed on Brexit.  It was clear that they buy Cava. So how do they feel?  How would you feel?  Poorer I'm sure, and blaming Brexit.  There's now many more food and drink examples.  What was a risk, a fear, before the referendum has become a reality.

The £350m on the bus has already been debunked by Theresa May offering the NHS no more money.  How do Leave voters feel about that? Let down? Angry to have been lied to?  It can only be negative.

Senior EU representatives emphasies again today that they will negotiate hard in the interests of the remaining 27 EU countries.  How confident do you feel that the UK could get a deal at least as good as currently?

So how do you feel now?  If you voted to Leave or to Remain are you more or less comfortable? If you were to vote now, would your vote change?

Will we get an EndoBrexit or an ExoBrexit ?

In chemical reactions, the energy you put in (shown by the humps) can either take you to a higher energy level or a lower level~:

With Brexit there is an equivalent situation.  Will the transition take the UK to:

• A higher level - an #EndoBrexit, or
• A lower level - an #ExoBrexit ?

Furthermore, if it looks like an #EndoBrexit, will all the investment in time, cost and energy for the transition have been low enough to be worthwhile?


WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?

Let's look at the transition first.  It is likely to take many years, whether it is a "Hard Brexit" or a "Soft Brexit".

The UK's divorce from the EU, triggered by Article 50, will likely take the full two years allowed.  Any new trade deal with the EU will likely take years longer, subject to any interim agreement. A deal with the EU must be in place to set the foundations for any new trade deals with non-EU countries. So many years longer before all's in place.  A massive investment in time, money and energy.  Then you need to add the hidden cost of the people involved not doing anything else constructive that needs doing.  Yet any benefits of new trade deals will only arise many years away. 

Furthermore, all indications are that the economy will suffer during the transition.  This is through uncertainty and the opportunity for businesses to reassess their location and investment.  Jobs lost, growth slowed, and tax receipts down.

Brexit must be strongly "Endo" to even begin to consider such a massive cost and investment.

The problem is that it is not at all clear the UK is headed for an #EndoBrexit.  If anything, the likely damage done to the economy during the transition will never be recovered.  It's looking like an #ExoBrexit.

There is certainly no justification for an expensive transition.

Some will say that any cost is worthwhile for regaining UK sovereignty and control over the UK's borders. Others will wonder what's the point if the economy is going backwards as a result?

Recent polls suggest many voted to Leave on the basis that there would be little or no cost for Brexit - essentially expecting free trade with the EU would continue un-interrupted.  That is by no means guaranteed.

But that's only one view.


KEY QUESTIONS THAT STILL NEED TO BE ANSWERED

To come to a proper collective view, let's make every effort to answer three questions:

1. Economically, is it looking like a higher #EndoBrexit or a lower #ExoBrexit ?
2. If #EndoBrexit, is the investment in the transition worthwhile?
3. If there's going to be a net cost, why bother with Brexit?

Is the EU Referendum result 'safe' or 'unsafe'?

Leaving the European Union is a major step for the United Kingdom.  We should only do that if we are certain there is public support for such a move. If we are, then it is "safe" to leave the EU.  If not, then we should remain in the EU.

The question is, did the Referendum in June 2016 provide the answer?  Was the result "safe"?  Or was it "unsafe"?

THE BASIC MAJORITY

The Referendum Act of 2015 set the bar at a simple majority of those voting.  In the event the result was pretty close: 51.9% to 48.1%.  A difference of not quite 1.3 million people.

The Government are using words about the result like "clear", "emphatic", "overwhelming" and "unarguable".

But it wasn't clear:

• A net switch of less than 650,000 from Leave to Remain would have meant a win for Remain
• As can be seen in the pie chart below, 62.5% in total did NOT vote to leave the EU. Almost as many did not vote as voted either Leave or Remain

One would hope that a move to leave the EU would therefore be done with some caution, not the gung-ho approach currently being taken.


HOW CLEAR WERE THE ARGUMENTS?

It would be far easier to accept the June result if the referendum campaigns had been clear and honest, so people could have made a well-informed decision. Sadly there were deficiencies on both sides, but the Leave campaign had more clearly lied and deceived voters.  As mentioned above, a switch of only 650,000 would have resulted in a Remain win.  Quite likely given what is discussed below:

The £350million extra that could be spent on the NHS 

One of the most prominent messages approaching referendum day was this on the side of a bus:

But this was utterly misleading:

• £350m was a gross figure rather than net figure after monies deducted or paid back to the UK. The net figure is under £160m .  
• This did not take into account any monies that will need to be paid for continued access to EU markets. The main headline in the Financial Times today says "Cabinet looks at paying billions to keep single-market access for City"
• This did not take account of extra costs the UK will need to incur duplicating administrative functions currently delegated to the EU, such as the UK's input to how the global internet functions. 
• It was not clear that in any case the UK is committed to paying money to the EU for at least two years before the UK were to leave.  Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt, as Health Secretary, have just confirmed that the NHS still needs to find £22,000 million per year in savings in the short term.
• The underlying assumption was that economy would not take a hit, so money wasn't needed elsewhere.  This is unlikely, as discussed further below.

The £350m claim should have been withdrawn. It wasn't. Instead it became more prominent.

"Project Fear" Debunked

Before the referendum, various people warned that there was the risk that various economic damage would be caused by leaving the EU.  These could result in:

• Lost jobs
• A risk that economic growth would slow - even producing a self-induced recession
• A consequent reduction in tax revenues (and therefore increased pressure on public spending and/or borrowings).

The Leave campaign said such claims were rubbish.

Whilst a recession has so far been avoided, the risks remain.  A number of things have happened since the referendum to highlight tbose risks as real:

• Countries like Japan have warned of a cut in investment into the UK
• Specifically, Nissan has said they will cut, defer or stop investment in their major car plant in Sunderland.  The Government has offered some form of guarantee. But at what cost?
• Banks in the City of London are more openly considering moving jobs to the continent
• Dublin, which as capital of Eire will remain in the EU, has reported a massive increase in enquiries to move professional service companies there
• The pound has crashed some 15-20% lower against other major currencies such as the US dollar and Euro.  Whilst some people are saying the pound was overvalued, it was the Brexit vote and announcements at the Tory conference that triggered specific falls
• There is a distinct possibility that the pound will lose its hard-earned status as a reserve currency.
• The interest rate at which the Government can borrow money has increased.  That means greater strain on money for public services

Confusion between the EU and the Single Market

To some people in the Leave camp, leaving the EU also meant leaving the Single Market.  A new free trade deal would need to be negotiated with the EU, but would be expected on more favourable terms than currently.

But other Leavers were saying, or at least implying, that a free trade deal could be provided similar to Iceland, which is members of the Single Market without being a member of the EU.

The public were undoubtedly confused.  The referendum question itself only mentioned the EU.  It would be "unsafe" to assume that meant leaving the Single Market as well.

Indeed the latest poll mid October suggests voters want to stay in the Single Market by 59% to 41% to leave.  That is well in excess of the margin of votes to leave the EU.  Again that may be because the similarities and differences between the Single Market and the EU are still not well understood.  It is only one poll, but suggests a potential shift away from support for Brexit

It is certainly not "safe" to suggest that the June vote was to leave the Single Market.  This is termed a "Hard Brexit", rather than some softer alternative within the Single Market.

Yet Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, has recently echoed many other EU politicians in saying "It's a hard Brexit or no Brexit".

It is not "safe" to interpret the vote to leave the EU as a vote for a hard Brexit.


WHAT ELSE HAS CHANGED SINCE THE REFERENDUM?

The sharp drop in the value of the pound is making imports far more expensive.  Consumers are beginning to see price rises on supermarket shelves, clothes, foreign cars, white goods and many other imported products.

The key indicator of inflation is also expected to increase.

For the Government, there will be increased pressure on costs:

• Any purchases from abroad, such as drugs, will be at a higher cost
• There will be an increase in cost to the Exchequer for anything such as pensions that are index-linked.

Whether the pound's devaluation was caused by the Brexit vote or not, most people will believe that it was.  The correlation is too stark.

Like everything else above, increased costs will tend to make people change their minds from Leave to Remain.


WHAT ABOUT ECONOMIC FORECASTS?

The forecasts before the Referendum suggests the risk of a major slowdown in the British economy.

Forecasts for the Autumn Statement at the end of November have not yet been published.  But we now know the drop in sterling value, the consequent icncrease in some Government costs, and an increase in borrowing costs. The chances are still very high new forecasts will show a slowdown compared to remaining in the EU.

How will the public react?  Likely more against Brexit than in support.


SO HOW SAFE WAS THE REFERENDUM RESULT?

If leaving the EU is a good idea, then public support for Brexit would increase.  But all the issues above will tend to produce a shift towards Remain.  Certainly there is no clear support for a Hard Brexit, where the UK also leaves the Single Market.

So was the referendum result to leave the EU "safe"?   No.  In itself it is not clear.

Indeed it is "unsafe", as public opinion is likely to shift away from Brexit in the months before the Article 50 Leave button is pressed.

What should the Government do?  Proceed with great caution, and be prepared to cancel Brexit unless it can more clearly show a "safe" desire to leave the EU. 

If this means a second referendum, then maybe that's what we need.  But it's quite likely that cancellation of Brexit will becone blatantly obvious.  We'll see.

What will get Theresa May to stop and think about Brexit?

Yesterday (Wednesday) the Prime Minister, Theresa May, remained gung-ho about Brexit.  Now there's a court case running to see if she needs to consult Parliament formally before proceeding.

But what about the Court of Public Opinion?  What in that will get her to stop and think more carefully?

Firstly here's a look at the Referendum result:
"How much of a mandate for Brexit does May actually have?"

This article has had over 2500 reads in little more than 48 hours, in response to a few tweets. Feedback has been positive:  For example, from @247 "An excellent and clear article that all people interested in #Brexit should read especially @TheresaMay_MP and her government"

But the odd thing about the Referendum is that it wasn't decided on the normal basis of "It's the Economy, Stupid".  According to polls, most people who voted to Leave did so on principle, firstly Sovereignty and secondly Immigration.

Now economic matters are dominating the headlines, with the devaluation of sterling already having real practical effects on food prices and even availability.  So the follow-up article is:
"How will Public Opinion change to support or reject Brexit?" 

The likelihood is that Public Opinion will, start to swing against Brexit.  How far will it need to go before Theresa May realises she hasn't got enough public support for Brexit any longer? 

Not an easy question to answer, as there are ifs about changes in public support and ifs about her reaction to it.  But as we approach the Autumn Statement in November, economic matters in the shops, at the airports and in the forecasts will become clearer.  Might we even see Brexit cancelled?

How will Public Opinion change to support or reject Brexit?

The previous post "How much of a mandate for Brexit does May actually have?" has had over 2500 reads in the 48 hours or so since it was published in Sunday.  It's clearly a topic of interest.

In David Davis's speech on Monday he said "The mandate for Britain to leave the European Union is clear, overwhelming, and unarguable."

The conclusion in the article was quite the opposite.  The mandate was not overhwlming and clear. It is certainly arguable:

• 62.6% of eligible voters did not back Brexit.  
• The 51.9% to 48.1% result was only marginal.  Over 16,100,000 voted to Remain.
• Key groups like London, Scotland and the better educated people across the UK voted net to Remain
• Research by Ashcroft concluded those of working age voted net to Remain, as did people actually in work. It was retired and unemployed who voted net to Leave.  

Therefore it is important that Mrs May and her Government tread carefully, and not betray the majority who did not vote for Brexit.  It will be important to bring the whole country along with her. 

Yet so far we've had a blunderbuss approach,  David Davis also said "no one should seek to find ways to thwart the settled will of the people." Wrong again, public opinion is not settled.  It will shift. If the Brexit deal looks like it will make sense, that will strengthen support for Brexit.  But if it's looking bad or iffy, as seems to be the case, public opinion will shift against Brexit.  It doesn't need much for that to become clearly net against.


OPINION POLLS SO FAR

As noted in the previous article, research immediately after the Referendum in June for  "Bregret", regretting their vote, meant a net figure of over 900,000 would not have voted for Leave.  They would possibly have switched to Remain. Only some 650,000 switching would have meant a Remain win.

The Chairman of one of the polling companies, ComRes, has suggested that later polls are more even. But there have been no such polls published in the last couple of weeks, when people have had a clearer view as to what Brexit is meaning, or could mean.


SO HOW COULD PUBLIC OPINION CHANGE?

The balance of probabilities is that public opinion will turn against Brexit rather than towards it.

(1) Devaluation of Sterling

The pound in your pocket is now worth over 15% less against major currencies such as the US dollar and the Euro.  Foreign travel is more expensive, with the exchange rate at airports now providing less than a euro for a pound.  A lot of of food, cars, white goods and consumer electronics are brought into the country as Dollar and Euro purchases.  The increase will be passed on to consumers.

Those cost increases will probably result in an increase in official inflation figures. That's bad news for everyone, but particularly for those on fixed incomes, including retired and unemployed folk who had voted net against.


(2) That £350 million a week for the NHS and the latest Economic Forecasts

Polling suggests the main issues for Leave voters were Control (sovereignty) and Immigration (control of borders).  But there was another very clear message prominently on Leave's campaign bus, that £350 million would be available for the NHS.  That must have had an influence.

The £350million claim was rubbished by Nick Robinson on the BBC before the Referendum, partly because that was the gross figure, not net after deductions and grants the UK receives.  There's also the matter of the cost of replicating EU administration that the UK nonetheless needs. As a result, Brexiteers now disown the claim.  But the claim was still being prominently made right up to Referendum day.

How many Leave votes might have gone to Remain if people had not been deceived?   How many have already switched their opinion?

But more importantly was the obvious implication that the money would be available because there wouldn't be any reduction in the monies the government would have available.  That is taxation receipts would not decline.

As the Chancellor, Philip Hammond said at the recent Tory conference "People did not vote on June 23rd to become poorer or less secure".

Indeed people did not vote to Leave at all costs. 

As we approach the Autumn Statement on 23 November, economic forecasts will become more prominent in the media.  So far they have been very downbeat.   Let's see.


(3) What form of Brexit were we sold?

We were sold a "Cake Brexit" - having our cake and eating it.   This refers to having both of:

• Being able to continue a free trade relationship with the EU, such that exports do not decline, businesses do not move to Eire or continental Europe, so jobs and taxation do not fall
• Whilst controlling immigration despite the usual need to adopt Freedom of Movement as a core and existing requirement of that free trade

MPs such as John Redwood argue that the Germans will want to continue selling their cars and the French their wine and cheeses to the UK, with the UK having total imports exceeding exports to the EU.  Arguably that will be the dominant factor in negotiations.  Possibly.  But in percentage terms the UK is far more reliant on the EU than the EU on the UK. That weakens the argument.

But more importantly is that the EU is desperate to avoid "contagion" - other EU states wanting similar special terms to any granted to the UK. As the Financial Times quotes a German official today in that context "If we have to choose between the EU27 and the UK, we will choose the EU27" The priority is the unity of the EU27, even at the cost of its economic and political ties with the UK.

So how will Cake Brexit be delivered? If not, what will be the public reaction?


(4) Did the Referendum vote mean leaving the European Union, the Single Market, the Customs Union or what?

The Referendum question was about leaving the EU. There was fierce debate in Parliament as to whether that means also leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union, both of which involve more countries, and so are not technically equivalent.  

This spilled over onto the BBC Daily Politics programme yesterday, with two senior Tory MPs disagreeing on whether the vote meant leaving all three or just the EU.  This is primarily about two things

• The jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, ECJ (not to be confused with the European Court of Human Rights) across more than just the EU
• The likely difficulty of avoiding compliance with Free Movement of People if the UK doesn't leave all three.

In a sense both MPs are right.  Unfortunately the Referendum question was unclear, and Leave voters' intentions even more unclear.

This gets back to the Cake Brexit situation.  Can leaving all three be achieved whilst preserving free trade, not only in the long term but also through the transition?  Then many people will be happy, including many Eurosceptics who voted to Remain because they thought this was unachievable.

Again, it is more likely that public opinion will shift against Brexit.


(5) So is there anything alse to increase support for Brexit?  What about the Transition?

Most potential upside to Brexit has been covered above.

The real difficulty is the transition.  New international trade agreements that support the Brexit vision cannot be put in place before the terms of Brexit have been agreed with the EU.  These terms provide the options and restrictions on any other deals.  This is likely to take years.  Further complications of the transition are discussed in today's FT article above.

In the meantime the big risk is that businesses, jobs and exports will be lost.  That means lower tax receipts, on top of the loss of the pound's purchasing power.  That neans people feeling poorer, taxes raised, public services cut, and/or the annual deficit rising.  Public opinion would surely turn against Brexit, wouldn't it?


WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE THERESA MAY AND HER GOVERNMENT?

Politically Theresa May and her Government are boxed into a corner. The Referendum Act that set a low bar of only 50% of votes and the Tory promise to respect the result is driving actions at the moment.

But the result wasn't clear and emphatic as the Tories are claiming.  As discussed above it is more likely that public opinion will turn against Brexit rather than getting behind it, as the economic impacts becomes increasingly apparent.  People won't like it if they are not getting what they were sold before the Referendum.

It is therefore right and proper that Theresa May treads very carefully before pressing the Article 50 button to formally leave the EU.  Ponteitally it means cancelling Brexit.

How that can be done politically?  It is a major challenge.  Assuming the economic forecasts  produced for the Autumn Statement show a worse result for Brexit than staying in the EU, we'll start to see what political options there are.

How much of a mandate for Brexit does May actually have?

A week ago Theresa May stood up at the Tory Party conference and made a speech about Brexit. In it she referred to the referendum on several occasions:

"The referendum result was clear. It was legitimate."

"The people gave their answer with emphatic clarity" 

"...those people who argue that Article 50 can only be triggered after agreement in both Houses of Parliament... are insulting the intelligence of the British people."

Today (Sunday) it is reported that a number of senior MPs across all parties disagree with her on the last point. They want to vote on the form of Brexit. There are also two court cases imminent on that principle. But in general politicians have accepted the referendum result, deeming it legitimate.

But was the referendum result emphatic? Was the result clear?

So did the referendum result itself give Mrs May the mandate to drive through Brexit as hard as she is?  Let's take a look...


OVERALL OUTCOME

Here was how the overall result was portrayed by the BBC:

You can see how close the result was. Just 3.8% difference, less than 1.3 million people. Had just 650,000 voted the other way, Remain would have won. That is not an emphatic result.

Taking into account those who didn't vote, the picture is like this:

Leave had only 37.4% of the vote. That means 62.6% of eligible voters did NOT vote for Brexit, some 29 million people. That is certainly not clear emphatic backing for Brexit.

It can be argued that it's just tough luck on the 13 million who didn't vote. But in Company Law, important special resolutions require a 75% majority. 50% of those voting is not enough.

Why wasn't the bar set higher for such an important decision?  I attended a post-referendum debate in the Lords where one Lord stood up and said he had suggested a higher bar, but it was rejected.  I still don't understand why.  For such an important decision I would have expected 60% of those voting at least.

So no, Theresa.  The result was not emphatic.


HOW ABOUT BY AGE?

The BBC published this analysis immediately after the referendum result:

It is notable that the older the voter, the more likely to vote Leave.  Is that a matter of wisdom? Maybe. But I suspect older people would have voted in the original refendum to join the Common Market, which became the EU with a much broader agenda than just trade as originally envisaged.  Theri views now are partly a reaction against that change.

But a clear majority of those under 45 wanted to Remain. Indeed, once total votes are considered, a majority of those of working age wanted to Remain.

Further research by Lord Ashcroft's organisation suggests, in their words:

•  "A majority of those working full-time or part-time voted to remain in the EU"
•  "Most of those not working voted to leave"

So much for this Government supporting hard-working families!  A clear vote, Mrs May?  No.


HOW ABOUT BY AREA?

These figures were published by the BBC:

In England, only London voted to Remain. Scotland and Northern Ireland also voted to Remain.

Wales and the rest of England voted to Leave. This was most pronounced in the poorer areas of the Midlands and the North. The affluent South East also voted to Leave, but only just.


TO WHAT EXTENT WAS THIS A PROTEST VOTE?

Like a by-election, votes between General Elections can be a protest vote against the Government of the day.  Especially those who feel let down by the establishment.  As noted above, it was "Most of those not working voted to leave".  Potentially as much a vote against the UK government as a fervent desire to leave the EU.

I spoke to a senior BBC technician a few days after the result.  Someone who takes a keen interest in politics. Emboldened by the media saying Remain would win, as a Remainer he voted Leave "to give Juncker a kicking". How many more placed a protest vote? Who knows? 


SO WHAT REASONS WERE GIVEN TO VOTE LEAVE?

If research has been done on why people who voted Leave did so, there's been very little published on the internet.  Further points from the Ashcroft research suggests:

• Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the EU was “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK”. 
• One third (33%) said the main reason was that leaving “offered the best chance for the UK to regain control over immigration and its own borders.” 
• Just over one in eight (13%) said remaining would mean having no choice “about how the EU expanded its membership or its powers in the years ahead.” 
• Only just over one in twenty (6%) said their main reason was that “when it comes to trade and the economy, the UK would benefit more from being outside the EU than from being part of it.”

That accounts for everyone. So maybe there were few purely protest votes.

But only one third of the Leave voters put Immigration as their first point.  Not clear if it was a significant factor for the other Leave voters. The point is, unless the Government has nore revealing statistics, it is not clear that Immigration and controlling borders is as important to the Leave voters as Theresa May is making out.  The vote isn't clear on this topic that seems to be driving Theresa May's thinking.  So what is? Is it her frustration as Home Secretary in having no means to control immigration from the EU, and her battles with the European Courts about expulsion of Abu Qatada for example? Certainly it's not a clear referendum result.

WHAT ABOUT INSULTING THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE?

The referendum campaigns, both Leave and Remain, insulted the intelligence of people. Half truths and outright lies.  Appeals to heart rather than head.  Leaving people confused or significantly misled.   The epitome was the Leave Battle Bus with two key messages "Take Back Control" and "£350 million a week for the NHS".   Painted red to appeal to Labour voters perhaps:

So how did the result play out across the demographics according to Ashcroft, with Remain in brown and Leave in blue:

where:

As a reasonable measure of intelligence and education:

• Managerial, administrative and professional people voted to Remain
• Skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled people voted to Leave 

Furthermore Ashcroft reports:

• A majority (57%) of those with a university degree voted to remain
• 64% of those with a higher degree voted to remain 

So the better educated, the more likely to vote to remain.

So why did the C2 and DE grades vote to Leave? Was it the bus and its distorted messages appealing to heart rather than head? Was it a protest vote against a rising economy that wasn't benefiting them?  Was it really immigration?  It's unclear.


WHAT ABOUT REGRETS?

Voting is rather like purchasing.  There can be "buyer's remorse", where the decision is regretted shortly afterwards. In the context of the referendum, the remorse is nicknamed Bremorse or Bregret.

So how much Bregret is there? Would it be enough to swing the vote the other way?


The British Election Study surveyed people just after the Referendum, and discovered for the question “Do you have any regrets about the way you voted in the EU referendum?”:

	Remain	Leave
No	98%	90%
Yes	1%	6%
Don’t know	1%	4%

That is, a net reduction in the Leave vote of some 900,000 people.  If they had all switched votes, that exceeds the 650,000 needed to give a Remain vote overall.  A further net 500,000 were unsure.  That's potentially a straight win for Remain.

With the fall in  the value of sterling, people are now noticing it is more expensive to go abroad, or to buy imported goods such as food, consumer electronics, white goods and foreign cars.  Poorer and now feeling poorer. 

The Leave side have also acknowledged that £350m per week for the NHS was not correct.  Indeed with forecasts now that a 'hard' Brexit could double the Governemetn's annual deficit, it may well mean taking money away fromt he NHS

So the level of Bregret may well have increased, pogtentially substantially.  It will be interesting to see more up to date polls

Philip Hammond was right in his Tory conference speech.  People "did not vote to be poorer and less secure". Yet that is the picture he is now seeing for the Government's current Brexit strategy.  Indeed any form of Brexit.  Few would have voted to Brexit at any cost.

It will be interesting to see how public attitudes harden or change as the Autumn Statement approaches on 23 November.  Economic issues are likely to become more prominent in the media.


IN CONCLUSION


So was the result emphatic and clear that people want to leave the EU?  No it wasn't:

• 62.6% of eligible voters did not back Brexit.  
• The 51.9% to 48.1% result was only marginal
• Key groups like London, Scotland and the better educated people across the UK voted to Remain
• Those of working age voted to Remain, as did people actually in work. It was retired and unemployed who voted to Leave 
• Immigration and border controls were a factor in Leave votes, but not dominant enough to drive Brexit policy in the way it appears to be happening

Furthermore, indications are that there is more Bregret amongst Leave voters than Remain.  More than needed to swing the vote from Leave to Remain.  This is only likely to get bigger when people react to the devaluation of sterling and to economic forecasts.  It will be interesting to see up to date polls.

So Mrs May.  Look behind the slim majority for Brexit.  It was not emphatic.  It was not clear. You do NOT have the mandate for Brexit you think you have. Tread carefully.  And please don't betray the majority who did not vote for Brexit.

What now for Tory and Labour moderates?

It's happened.  The principle policies announced at the Tory conference were right wing, despite the rhetoric from Theresa May about "working class people". Brexit and various anti-foreigner initiatives added to grammar schools. The party's right-wing MPs were euphoric.  The Troies have rebranded as UKIP.  Even representatives of UKIP are saying so!

But where does thst leave the moderate centre-right MPs and members?  Often called 'Cameroons', the FT reported today that they have "gone to ground".

Much like the moderate centre-left MPs and members of the Labour party.  Outcasts.

It has to be remembered that both parties are in fact coalitions.  The Tories between right and moderate centre-right.  Labour between left and moderate centre-left.  In the last few general elections, it has been the party best dominated by these moderates that have won - Labour led by Tony Blair and Tories led by David Cameron.

There's a good reason for this. British voters regard themselves as principally centrist, plus slightly more centre right than centre left. The current more extreme positions of the Tories and Labour have little natural popular support.  General elections are won by appealing to the centre:

Representative picture, based on ComRes data late 2014

Back in July, Andrea Leadsom was still in contention for the Tory leadership.  News broke in the Observer that should the two parties polarise, then senior MPs were thinking of forming a new centrist party.  That polarisation has happened, under Corbyn in Labour, and under May rather than Leadsom in the Tories:

It is now time for this idea to be put into action.  Like this:

The last time there was a major spin-out of moderate MPs was the formation of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). It wasn't long before the SDP almost disappeared, and to survive had to merge with the Liberals to form the Liberal Democrats. There were two key factors:

• The SDP did not appeal much to the centre-right
• The SDP was not large enough to take on the two main parties . The LibDems still struggle.

A new centrist party formed by the combination of centre-right and centre-left would be different:

• It would appeal to both centre-right and centre-left voters, especially swing voters
• It could be far larger than the SDP.  Large enough to take on what remains of the Labour and Tory parties

Forming a new party won't be easy. It needs money, bravery and a strong leader.  Fortunately there are strong leadership candidates from the moderate wings of both parties who could take on the challenge.

It take weeks to register a new party. The Just Political Party has already been registered with centrist objectives and initial constitution. It has been branded "Great Aspirations. Great Britian" to appeal to the aspirations of voters across the country.

The JustPP also backs Remain for UK's membership of the EU, given that Brexit looked and still looks as it will severely damage the UK economy.  Something we cannot afford and Leave voters wouldn't expect.  The Chancellor himself said over the weekend that "the British people did not vote on June 23rd to become poorer, or less secure."

The JustPP can therefore be used by MPs as the political force in Westminster to stop Brexit before the Article 50 button is pressed, if the picture continues to look that it will make us poorer..  It just needs the will to make the new party a success.

Further details of the Just Political Party here. 

Who's up for the new party?

Who's saying "Brexit means trashing the economy"?

USD:GBP exchange rate through 2016

As a eurosceptic, it would be great if there were to be a new arrangement for the UK with the EU that made sense both politically and economically. This could be inside or outside the EU. But the new arrangement must achieve both objectives.

We had a massive devaluation in sterling against major currencies such as the US dollar and Euro immediately after the surprise Brexit vote in June. There was a further slide after Brexit announcements at the Tory conference.  Hardly a ringing endorsement of the UK economy by the professionals. Nor had such a hefty devaluation been suggested as a serious answer to the UK's economic issues.

Looking at the transition issues of Brexit and the likely long-term result, I would agree with what the currency market seems to be saying. "Brexit means trashing the economy."

Unless the Government can quickly pull a rabbit out of the hat, the country needs to think again. Businesses should be planning for "No Brexit" as much as any other shade.

What should be painted on the Brexit Battle Bus?

Befroe the EU referendum we had the VoteLeave battle bus saying let's fund the NHS with £350m a week instead of sending it to the EU.

We now need a Brexit Battle Bus that proudly proclaims what Brexit will actually mean in monetary terms, before the Article 50 button is pressed.  There's two sides and a roof, so the opportunity for three major messages. The rear can also be used for something short and punchy.

I hope that the figures will be good, in which case it will help to persade the 48% who voted Remain to believe that Brexit is a good idea, and heal this split in the population.  But I fear the figures will be bad, in which case will the Government still have public opinion on their side to press the Article 50 button?. Either way the public needs to know, loud and clear.

The Autumn Statement in November will give us some numbers.  One will be the forecast of total borrowings by comparison to the final year in the spring Budget.  Higher or lower?

The £350m was a gross number, not net. The second side can show what will actually happen to the £350m, such as paying for ex-pats' health cover in Spain.  Still a surplus?

That leaves us two spaces.  Any suggestions?