Have they though? How many 'centrists' have really done or said anything worthwhile? How many have actually told the truth about what Brexit means, or actually said, clearly and unambiguosly - and regularly - that what the UK actually needs is to Remain. That the UK actually needs to IGNORE the results of a bent referendum that should never have occured in the first place, because the people are not qualified to make such a decision?
How many? The odd David Lammy here or there, but who else? Even Grieve has only finally said something vaguely worthwhile after two years of being 'spineless', as another poster here charges.
Virtually all of them have brought in - to one degree or another - to the 'we must respect the result' and '17.2m blah blha blah' crap without rolling up their sleeves and actually trying to educate the country - including the 17.2m - about why the 2016 result is wrong and damaging and unworkable and therefore MUST be stopped. Not softened or finessed or hand-wrung about, but STOPPED.
Think there's too much valorising here of an 'idea' of a laudable centrist base that does not match the reality. And that's why I think that politics will NOT particuarly change after this.
Things will just carry on as they are, despite this utter shitshow, because we, the electorate, have a remarkable facility for self-delusion and an endless ability to forgive and a tendency to see what we want in the actions and words of our politicians, even when it is not there.
As I say it's surprising they are called centrists considering all the abuse and intimidation they went through. many MPs hid behind the party line.
I can forgive MPs who argued we have to respect the result of the referendum as long as they told voters the truth, very few of us fully understood how the EU works 2 1/2 yrs ago. imo many of us would of been willing to compromise with a Norway deal, we now know far more and understand why a Norway deal is not good enough to protect jobs and economy.
I heard plenty of speeches from MPs trying to hold the liars to account, Ummunas speech around the time of triggering art 50 was angry and passionate, how he will throw the leave MPs lies back in their face when Brexit is shown for what it is.
There are at least 50+ MPs who opposed the triggering of art 50. am sure that number opposed to Brexit is far higher today.
We have the luxury of being able to argue f,, the referendum result, just as Labour MPs argued f.. austerity but our MPs can't do it without a good argument.
Owen Smith gave the best argument during the Labour leadership debates and the reaction by Corbyn and his supporters was shocking.
Smith argued. "If the evidence shows Brexit will bring economic disaster then we must have the chance to reconsider"
Smith was arguing a economic disaster will bring poverty,job losses, welfare cuts ,austerity.
Yet Corbyn still argued we must leave the EU even if we know this to be true, I never heard one word about all the people living in poverty etc during that part of the debate.
It's not so much about fighting to stop Brexit, it's about telling the public the truth, there would be no Brexit if our MPs did this, am i being naive as MPs always lie? not on this scale, not with so much at stake. it's not just getting a new so called centrists party, it's fighting to hold all the lying MPs to account.
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