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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics

A referendum is not needed for the UK to reach a Bre-entry deal with Europe

EU Council staff members remove the United Kingdom's flag from the European Council building in Brussels, 31 January 2020.
EU Council staff members remove the United Kingdom's flag from the European Council building in Brussels, 31 January 2020. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/AFP/Getty Images

With all due respect to Polly Toynbee, why do we assume that we would need another referendum to return to Europe (Shall we have another EU referendum? Maybe – but not yet, 19 October)? The last one didn’t work out too well. Asking the electorate to vote a simple yes or no on such a complex and multifaceted deal was never going to be the right approach; nor will it be to go back in.

Call it what you will – Brejoin, Bre-entry, Brehabilitation – it shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing deal. The one thing that Brexit has given us is the opportunity to cherrypick the elements of a relationship that are of mutual benefit to both parties. How about approaching it on a piecemeal basis, processing it through normal parliamentary procedure? No buses required.
Gary Jones
Wimbledon, London

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