EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

With a cup of tea, obviously. British tea. From India.

If you were a real patriot you would be drinking Yorkshire tea. It's grown just outside Skipton I believe.

Bloody hell. I didn't know that. I was drinking Yorkshire tea.

Colour me sovereign.

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/brexit-is-not-the-will-of-the-british-people/

About the Author

Revd. Adrian Low is Emeritus Professor of Computing Education at Staffordshire University and Church of England priest for the Costa del Sol West Chaplaincy in Spain. He is the author of Introductory Computer Vision, Imaging Techniques and Solutions.

I noticed that. Not sure your point?

Well. From the URL I had assumed it was an LSE academic's perspective. Just pointing out that he, by profession, believes in things without evidence.

From his web page. It appears that he has a 30+ year career as a scientist and statistician.

Adrian Low is an Essex man, he obtained his BSc(Hons) Maths and Computing from the University of East Anglia, then an MSc in Operational Research from Hull University. He worked, initially, at Westminster Medical School in the Department of Community Medicine as a statistician and lecturer in applied statistics, where he wrote his first paper on 100 years of British suicide. He then went to work for Norwich City College as a lecturer in Maths and Computing, during which he studied for a Cert Ed and a Dip FE with Leeds University. In 1984 he went to Staffordshire as a senior lecturer, and started a family.

In 1990 he went to Sandwell College of FE and HE as the Head of School of Computing. At the time the college was the largest in the UK. He returned to Staffordshire, preferring higher education, late in 1991 and was promoted to principal lecturer and then Associate Dean in 1998. Since then he has fulfilled learning and teaching roles, quality, resources, international and, most recently, scholarship, enterprise and research. In 2010 he completed an MA in Theology and Pastoral Studies at Nottingham University as part of part-time training for the priesthood. He was ordained in 2010, initially working in spare time as a curate in the parishes of Alrewas, Fradley and Wychnor. He retired from the University in April 2014 and began a 14 month paid second curacy with the Church of England in the benefice of Abbots Bromley, Blithfield, Colton, Colwich and Great Haywood in Saffordshire. Since September 2015 he is now living and working in Estepona on the Costa del Sol (West) as an Anglican priest with responsibility for two English-speaking churches one in San Pedro and the other at Sotogrande.

I guess reading the bio of an author is much easier than reading, and reflecting on, what they actually wrote.

Well, his statistical analysis may very well be sound.

But I am not sure it works. Say: If Labour is mostly voted in by younger people, the Conservatives by over 65...and there's a narrow tie in Westminster, is there a mechanism for that? I doubt there is.

But is there even a sound mechanism for UK referenda...there have only been 3 (join EU, change FPTP, leave EU)?

Interesting read, thanks. I do find the logic hard to follow though (i.e. polls before referendum were totally wrong, but polls post referendum that support my view are definitely right). I appreciate there are nuances in the article about Remain voters not turning out to vote, but there doesn't seem to be much (other than his personal opinion) to suggest anything would be different a second time round regarding voter turnout.

Just such a shame people didn't go and vote. I can't imagine being completely apathetic to something like this.

I agree. I'm skeptical of polls - especially ones this close - so I think it's fair to be suspicious. I do think it raises an important issues - that the reality may be that the majority does not want Brexit (and there are a few reasons for this - complacence, personal reasons, administrative). We seem to have some evidence for this. What is more, data seems to show that the trend is going in the direction of remain.

I think it's fair to say this complicates the repeated claims of "we won!" or "you lost!", and perhaps a better government would attempt to engage with these details. His position is for a second referendum to take place now that more people are aware of the consequences, and one which allows the younger population the opportunity to state their position.

Yes definitely, some interesting thoughts on where the vote would have landed had everybody voted. The problem I think is even if the government were willing to engage with these points (rather big 'if') there isn't much concrete for it to grasp onto. It is sadly very easy to rebut a demand for a second referendum - complacency and personal reasons for not voting the first time round aren't enough. I also don't see the 'now that more people are aware of the consequences' argument, as people will simply counter that we haven't even triggered Article 50 yet, so how can we meaningfully discuss consequences.

I do completely agree that the absolute we won/you lost viewpoint is neither helpful nor arguably accurate. I'm rather at a loss about what to do about it though. I've just got a job abroad and will be emigrating in about 5 months time with my wife and baby which I will be sad about, but I don't feel the love for this place like I used to. Time for some positive adventures!!

Yup - definitely not a silver bullet, and certainly rhetorically problematic, but at least the post is engaging with some of the details of the issue.

I've just got a job abroad and will be emigrating in about 5 months time with my wife and baby which I will be sad about, but I don't feel the love for this place like I used to. Time for some positive adventures!!

Congrats - I suspect you're not the only one who will be making the move in the coming weeks, months, and years.

(Ironically, this has made getting a job in my very competitive field a bit easier here...).

(Ironically, this has made getting a job in my very competitive field a bit easier here...).

Silver linings(!) - hope you find something good!

I can confirm that I'm making a success of breakfast (greek yogurt and granola)*

*dam it, that's way too continental isn't it.

If you have to dam it, your yoghurt is too runny.

he wrote his first paper on 100 years of British suicide

I cannot imagine anyone better qualified to comment on the Brexit vote.

Zing!

#actualol

EU Parliament has produced this useful list of links to what think tanks are saying about Brexit:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/589761/EPRS_BRI(2016)589761_EN.pdf

Just read them all. Bunch of remoaning bullshit if you ask me. :P

It's a capitalist conspiracy! ;)

Yes, but think of all that extra money for the NHS each week.

According to Tharesa May it doesn't need it. I say we use it to buy a royal yacht.

#satireisdead

Says BRIE in the URL. Looks like French propaganda to me.