You’ve got no plans!

I have said on a number of occasions that I would seriously consider leaving the EU if I thought that there was a positive case for leaving and I am serious about that. If there was a plan that showed how the UK could both benefit from leaving and still play its part on the world stage, I really would consider voting to Leave.

But there simply isn’t one, the leave campaign can’t even agree amongst themselves how we would move forward as a progressive outward looking nation if we left the EU. I've even had one Brexiter, who couldn't tell me what the plan is, reassure me that it doesn’t matter, we've got 2 years to come up with a plan!

An interesting, but scary thought, it doesn’t matter if we don’t have a plan because we can make one up as we go, and somehow we are supposed to believe that it really will be so much better when we get there. Sorry, but I am not convinced.

But, even as scary as that may sound, it is actually far less scary than the reality of what would happen post-Brexit, because the thing that most they people have completely missed in this scenario, is that it doesn’t matter if we have a plan or not, because we will not be making those decisions.

Even if Boris becomes Prime Minister, Gove becomes Chancellor and Farage joins the Tory party, they will not be deciding our future if we decide to leave Europe.

It is the remaining 27 countries of the EU, not us, that will decide how our relationship with Europe pans out post-Brexit and you can guarantee one thing, they will NOT be discussing what is best for the UK if we leave, they will be discussing what is best for the EU.

And as for us, well we will be left on the side-lines whilst the supposedly weak rest of Europe, like a nightmarish vision of the Wealdstone Raider, decide our future all the whle taunting us.

“Come on then bring it on.”

“You’ve got no plans!”

Things are looking up, or are they?

It's been nearly 2 years since I have blogged and it's about time I got back into it.

A lot has happened since then, it would appear that my early optimism for a second coalition was on reflection far too optimistic and we Liberal Democrats have been all but demolished in the last General Election leaving us with only 8 MPs. I did not fair too much better personally, having come 2nd in 2010, I came 4th behind both Labour and UKIP in 2015, but at least, thanks to some local support for me, I kept my deposit, many less fortunate LibDem candidates did not.

Just over a year later and although we are being told that things are looking up for the LibDems, it is difficult to get really enthusiastic, even though we have made some ground in local elections and there are some indications in the polls that we are (very slowly) recovering from that awful night. 

I personally was very pleased to be re-elected this year with an increased majority and even more pleased that we made 3 gains in Gosport, bringing our total councillors to 9, showing that when you do the work on the ground you can still do well at a local level.

We are hoping, in 2 years, to make more ground and put real pressure on the Conservatives in Gosport, that is if Gosport has not been swallowed up in the Conservatives devolution plans. Funny I thought devolution was more control at a local level, not less.

And finally, here we are less than 2 weeks away from a referendum, with what appears to be a surge in anti-EU feeling based on misplaced national pride and the pipe dreams of the Leave campaigners who have no real plan for what will happen to the UK if we do cut our noses off to spite our faces and vote to leave.

Have things really got better since May 2015? For the number of councillors that we have now compared to then, yes, but the real question is, do the British public have more or less desire for Liberal values than they did in 2015?