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Brexit with a deal is the right way to go for UK, EU

Sep 07,2019 - Last updated at Sep 07,2019

The "Brexist" narrative is getting more complicated and prejudicial by the day. Not only it is divisive, but it also threatens to tear down the fabric of the British democracy after Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the plan of "recessing" the House of Commons effectively for the entire period prior to the October 31 deadline, when the UK is slated to leave the European Union (EU), with or without a deal.

Many scenarios are looming on the horizon for ending this narrative, including the holding of another referendum on Brexit, or holding a new round of general elections to test the sentiment of the people of the country for the last time.

Much water has gone under the bridge since 2016, and what the people seem to have decided then may not be their choice more than three years later.

On a closer look though, the problem with Brexit is deeper than it appears on the surface and has yet to be addressed in depth. The crux of the issue is that fact that the 2016 referendum gave the people of the UK only a simplistic "binary choice" that does not cover the wider, important sideline related issues associated with the "divorce" between the UK and the EU.

The referendum conducted in 2016 simply asked the people of the country two questions: The first was whether the UK should remain a member of the EU, and the second was whether it should leave the EU. As direct and straight forward these questions are, they fail to address the entire issues closely related to Brexit that are fundamental dimensions of it.

The British people were thus denied an opportunity to make an informed decision on the future of their country by not complementing the two options by other relevant inquiries that also require the expression of an opinion by the public.

The political status of any country cannot be determined by a simple yes or no answer. The oversimplified questions asked to the people of the UK are basically flawed by not complementing them with follow up questions, whether the option to remain part of the EU or leave it would be on the basis of a deal or no deal.

It is one thing to express an option in favour of remaining in the EU and quite another to also ask whether the choice should be with or without a deal. The same goes for the option to leave the EU. Here, again, what should have been asked is whether leaving the EU should be on the basis of a deal or without one. There is an ocean of difference between choosing one of the two options without expressing an opinion on the organic terms associated with either choice.

Under the circumstances, the 2016 referendum is mortally flawed and should be repeated on a more precise language so that the people have a clearer view of what they are opting for. The UK is no third world nation that opts for shortcuts. It is, after all, the image and heritage of the UK that are at stake.

If Brexit is a form of "divorce", the more amicable are its conditions the more "civilised" it would be. That is why a Brexit with a deal is the right way to go for the UK and the EU.

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