Brexit day
Well, the day which some have longed for and others have dreaded is finally here: today is Brexit day. At 11pm this evening Britain ceases to be a member state of the European union.
To those who are delighted: enjoy the celebrations.
There will be others, both in this country and the 27 countries who after today will not be "the rest of the EU" but "the EU," who deeply regret what is happening today. Let's not rub their noses in it. They remain our friends and neighbours and those 27 countries remain our allies.
A third group, who may well be the majority, do not sit easily in either category. They include those who did not vote or never felt strongly about it, and those like myself who voted Remain but considered democracy more important than EU membership and that the decision of the people through the ballot box must be respected. There are also those, whichever way they voted in 2016, who are heartily sick of all the arguments and political paralysis and are just relieved to see a decision taken and implemented so the UK can at last move on to the next chapter of our country's history and address the other challenges we face.
To those people and indeed everyone else: a chapter is closing and a new one beginning. Let's move on and make this work.
To those who are delighted: enjoy the celebrations.
There will be others, both in this country and the 27 countries who after today will not be "the rest of the EU" but "the EU," who deeply regret what is happening today. Let's not rub their noses in it. They remain our friends and neighbours and those 27 countries remain our allies.
A third group, who may well be the majority, do not sit easily in either category. They include those who did not vote or never felt strongly about it, and those like myself who voted Remain but considered democracy more important than EU membership and that the decision of the people through the ballot box must be respected. There are also those, whichever way they voted in 2016, who are heartily sick of all the arguments and political paralysis and are just relieved to see a decision taken and implemented so the UK can at last move on to the next chapter of our country's history and address the other challenges we face.
To those people and indeed everyone else: a chapter is closing and a new one beginning. Let's move on and make this work.
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