MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
UK ex top diplomat warns of “disastrous consequences” of Brexit
Lord Kerr, UK’s ex permanent representative at EU from 1990-95, said that when he drafted Article 50, he thought it would only ever be used by a dictatorial regime 
“We recognize that a narrow majority voted to leave the European Union, but the disastrous consequences are now becoming ever clearer – every day” 
“Our international reputation has been seriously damaged, leaving the UK weak, with diminished influence, in an increasingly uncertain and unstable world.” The author of the European Union’s Article 50 has issued a call for Brexit to be halted, warning that its “disastrous consequences” are becoming clearer every day. Lord Kerr of Kinlochard was among more than 60 prominent figures in Scotland who signed a joint letter warning that Brexit has seriously damaged the UK’s international reputation and calling for a “UK-wide debate about calling a halt to the process”.
The peer, who was Britain’s permanent representative at the EU from 1990-95 before becoming ambassador to the US, has previously said that when he drafted Article 50 – which sets out the process for withdrawal from the EU – he thought it would only ever be used by a dictatorial regime, not by the UK.
The letter to the Herald newspaper, also signed by former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson, Scotland’s former first minister Henry McLeish and Liberal Democrat ex-leader Lord (Menzies) Campbell, said: “We see our society, economy and politics becoming ever more undermined due to the impact of Brexit.
“We recognize that a narrow majority voted to leave the European Union, but the disastrous consequences are now becoming ever clearer – every day. Even before the UK has left the EU, we face falling living standards, rising inflation, slowing growth and lower productivity.
“Our international reputation has been seriously damaged, leaving the UK weak, with diminished influence, in an increasingly uncertain and unstable world.”
The letter continues: “In a democracy, it is always possible to think again and to choose a different direction. We need to think again about Brexit, to have a UK-wide debate about calling a halt to the process and changing our minds.”
It concludes: “We call for a national debate on Brexit. We ask our fellow citizens, and our politicians, to think again. It is time to call a halt to Brexit.”
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Read all comments“Spoken like a hard core capitalist.”
Jul 20th, 2017 - 03:47 pm +3Well duh. That's because in the real world most people are in favour of capitalism, including me.
“Remainers wanted to stay because they believe in socialism and bureaucrats and politicians that the people can't control. They didn't want “good economics”.”
Haha. This is what happens when you make shit up instead of bothering to ask some Remainers why they voted that way.
You need to remember that many more young and well educated people voted to remain, and they get more benefit from an open economy and the opportunities it provides. Nearly all of my friends voted to remain, and the economy WAS the primary reason. Second reason is a cultural one: we have grown up with the EU, and met friends from different countries at university, so European integration doesn't seem like a bad thing. Thirdly, for some people free movement is bad because it means more competition, but if you are young and ambitious it is an opportunity to go and live and work in another country; I have friends who are doing this and now Brexit is causing problems for them.
This doesn't mean I love the EU, it has plenty of problems, but it exists whether we like it or not and the benefits to being inside easily outweigh the costs.
The question is why you can't think of an intelligent thing to say.
Jul 23rd, 2017 - 09:55 am +2If the EU had been more democratic, less corrupt and resisted the Islamification of the continent a bit more, Brexit may not have happened.
Jul 20th, 2017 - 10:18 am +1Commenting for this story is now closed.
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