Damn those pesky kids - if they hadn't been scurrilously encouraged to

[World's End Stella]

The argument has to be that the will of the people was expressed at the referendum. If that was true before the election it is just as true now. I would also agree that any Brexit that involves remaining in the single market and retaining freedom of movement is an absolute betrayal of that vote. Nobody in their right can honestly think that those voting leave were voting for that. Its a joke.

There are more complex, longer term issues in there around cheap labour, the drift of skills and capital towards the areas of economic strength within the EU and away from those areas requiring development. The potential for widening an east-west divide within the Union that already exists.....

I have already heard plenty of references to a 'jobs Brexit', an 'economic Brexit', a 'Brexit that works for Britain'. As you say , this is politician-speak for the political establishment devising a brexit that works for them.

Yes, it will absolutely be a betrayal, but the reality is that whether or not Brexit is good in the long run, it will clearly be bad in the short run. And many politicians will be thinking 'if we go hard Brexit the economy will die and there goes my seat. If I go soft Brexit the economy should be just fine and I can argue my way out of the betrayal argument'.

Brexit may ultimately be better for the country but it clearly has a far lower downside in the short run and as I said, it's all about the here and now nowadays. As we've just seen with the student vote.

[Herbette Chapman - aged 15]

I think a betrayal of the referendum would make us no better than the Irish who simply hold referenda repeatedly til they get the answer they want, but it may be worth it just to see every blood vessel in Berni's head erupt in a sort of hyper aneurysm.

[Ash]

I think a betrayal of the referendum would make us no better than the Irish who simply hold referenda repeatedly til they get the answer they want, but it may be worth it just to see every blood vessel in Berni's head erupt in a sort of hyper aneurysm.

I believe it was the EU that demanded that the Irish keep voting until they delivered the required result. And the EU have ignored referendums in France, Netherlands and Greece because they didn't like the outcome. This contempt for democracy is one of the reasons that some of us voted Leave in the first place. That the British, pro-EU elite are behaving in the same way comes as no surprise.

[World's End Stella]

I believe it was the EU that demanded that the Irish keep voting until they delivered the required result. And the EU have ignored referendums in France, Netherlands and Greece because they didn't like the outcome. This contempt for democracy is one of the reasons that some of us voted Leave in the first place. That the British, pro-EU elite are behaving in the same way comes as no surprise.

If you wanted a hard Brexit you should have voted Tory.

It wouldn't have guaranteed it, but it would have been far more likely than it is now.

[Ash]

If you wanted a hard Brexit you should have voted Tory.

It wouldn't have guaranteed it, but it would have been far more likely than it is now.

No point in my constituency.

[World's End Stella]

No point in my constituency.

Sorry, not having that. Everyone should vote and should vote based on which party represents their views most consistently. The whole thing is pointless otherwise.

And it allows you to then have a proper moan afterwards.

[Peter]

Sorry, not having that. Everyone should vote and should vote based on which party represents their views most consistently. The whole thing is pointless otherwise.

And it allows you to then have a proper moan afterwards.

The point is that it doesn't lead to a parliament that reflects the national vote and is therefore hopelessly unreliable as an outcome based around a single issue.

[Burney]

Sorry, not having that. Everyone should vote and should vote based on which party represents their views most consistently. The whole thing is pointless otherwise.

And it allows you to then have a proper moan afterwards.

Nonsense. What if your chief desire is to deliver a rebuke to the PM or the party in power? In those circumstances, it's perfectly legitimate to choose the candidate most likely to give that PM or party a bloody nose - regardless of whether you agree with all their policies or not.
Democracy is a means of representing yourself and trying to make manifest your wishes. It's not an opinion poll.

[Peter]

No point in my constituency.

Precisely. Not only was the election NOT about that, but the result doesn't even translate in the same way. I could have voted Lib Dem as a remainer and it would have had no effect on the make up of parliament whatsoever. This is why you hold a referendum on a big single issue. At an election, voters get to decide what they care about.