19 february 2017, not there yet

Well obviously he-who-must-not-be-remained got there before me (well done, tony), but I'll happily jump on that bandwagon, as just like the last-tory-remainer standing ken clarke, I too somehow missed out on that great epiphany on 24 june that convinced so many other people that despite what they may have thought previously, leaving the eu is not such a bad idea after all. It is. And if staying in is the right thing to do, then it's worth fighting for. The 48% have not yet given up. Though hsbc and various european orchestras may not yet presage the great exodus, there is no doubt that things cannot be better afterwards for those that want to encourage liberal, create, innovative people, of whatever nationality, to congregate in the uk and do their thing. Similarly, as peter mandelson said just this morning, trade, at least with the eu, cannot be better afterwards, it's just a question of how much worse and what we get in return; potentially nothing. Andrew marr made a a pithy point when interviewing liz truss immediately afterwards. Though she supported remain, she conceded she had changed her mind - so shouldn't the people have the right to change their mind too ? It's a shame that blair is such damaged goods in the public eye, as he remains britain's most eloquent and rational leader. The people do have a right to change their mind he asserted and it is the task of those who think brexit wrong to persuade them to do so. "I don't know if we can succeed" he said, "but I do know we will suffer a rancorous verdict from future generations if we do not try". He talks about the surreal nature of the curious absence of a big argument as to why brexit continues to be a good idea; the speech is worth reading in full. He goes much further, lining brexit up as a direction of travel against liberty, democracy and the rule of law. "As the world changes and opens up across boundaries of nation and culture, which values will govern the 21st century? Today, for the first time in my adult life, it is not clear that the resolution of this question will be benign." Worth fighting for.