Originally Posted by
the other bob wilson
The referendum involved a simple choice, but the consequences of going one of the two ways are enormous. Despite what I said about nuances within the remain camp, it's true to say that a remain vote would have seen things stay much the same as they were before - that's certainly not the case now.
My point is that your "large number of people" who were always going to be unhappy is unlikely to consist solely of remain voters in the future. I can easily see the broad coalition of leave voters fracturing as it becomes clear that Brexit doesn't mean what many of them thought it would when they voted and that is why I maintain that if you asked five leave voters what they were expecting if the referendum went their way, you'd probably have got three or four different answers.
I can't speak for others, but I always thought it was insulting to label all leave voters as thick racists. However, I will always maintain that the way the campaign was conducted by some (e.g. Farage) meant that the small minority of Brexit voters who were thick racists could have felt that their views were being vindicated in a way that you don't get in general elections and, in a contest where the margins were so close, their votes probably proved crucial.
However, I see no point in arguing over a vote that is now history. The thing is that, as far as I'm aware, none of the mainstream parties or the senior figures on the remain side are saying that all bets are off now as far as Brexit is concerned because of this morning's High Court verdict. Brexit is still on, but it's now going to be less straightforward - speaking as someone who voted remain, but fully accepts that we are going to leave the EU, I'm pleased that this is the case because the consequences are too huge for them to be decided by a favoured few high up in the Tory party.