To have Sovereignty or not have Sovereignty. That was the question.

There are two kinds of people in the debate about the EU.  Those who seek to have a conversation based on facts and the law.  And those who seek to sloganize.  Both sides have their fair share of both it has to be said.   

But if we get away from those who cry leaving the EU will be the greatest thing since sliced bread and those how talk about a cliff edge disaster, we can move on to territory that actually is productive.  And at the heart of the debate we find that it all comes back down to the question on the ballot paper three years ago.   Should we stay or should we go?

Just remember, the question was one that the Electoral Commission, the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK, said was good.   Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission said, “Any referendum question must be as clear as possible so that voters understand the important choice they are being asked to make. We have tested the proposed question with voters and received views from potential campaigners, academics and plain language experts.

‘Whilst voters understood the question in the Bill some campaigners and members of the public feel the wording is not balanced and there was a perception of bias.  The alternative question we have recommended addresses this.  It is now for Parliament to discuss our advice and decide which question wording should be used.’   

And that revised question was the one that MPs approved.    

That’s the legitimacy of the question out of the way.  In the biggest ever plebiscite the UK has ever seen 17,410,742 voted leave, a majority of almost 4%.   Even the late Paddy Ashdown said one vote was enough.

So, on the question, the Electoral Commission said was ok.  The voters voted to leave.  Yet some still say we didn’t know what we were voting for.   If I asked you, using the same wording as the referendum question, “do you want to remain a member of your golf or leave the golf club”, I think you would agree the question was pretty straightforward.  In other words, it was about one thing only, Sovereignty.