Quote of the day 1st June 2016

People from other countries ask me if there will be another referendum on the EU after this one.

“No," I tell them, “whatever the result, that’s it. Even if it’s 51-49 to leave, we’re leaving. And if it’s 51-49 the other way, we’re staying indefinitely.”

25 days from now a lot of people are going to have a lot of accepting to do. Either all the UKIP activists and the many pro-Leave Tories who have campaigned for years as the voice of the people will have to accept that they’re not; or vast numbers of business leaders, economists, security experts and others will have to swallow the fact that voters are happy to ignore their advice.

It’s going to be a humbling moment. And once a few hours of cheers, tears and shock have elapsed, there will suddenly be a task of immense importance facing everyone who cares about this country – which is how to make the best of the result, whether or not we agreed with it."

(Former Foreign Secretary William Hague argues that, whatever it is, the result of the referendum must be respected in a very interesting article which can be read here.)

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