Bollocks to Brexit

Yesterday I had one of the most bizarre exchanges with a stranger regarding Brexit than I have had with anyone for the last two years.

I suggested that having a People’s Vote now that Westminster is effectively in stalemate was a good idea, particularly given that the demographic of the electorate has changed since the 2016 EU Referendum. Older people who voted have died and thousands of younger people are now eligible to vote. As whatever happens with regards to Brexit will undoubtedly effect younger people for the longest period, I said I thought it was only right and fair that they should have a say in their nation’s future.

The stranger I was talking to (on Facebook) suggested (and I’m paraphrasing here) that I had told her to go away and die because older people’s views didn’t matter. Of course, as you can see from my explanation above, she was clearly talking nonsense.

She went on to say that younger people now eligible to vote shouldn’t have a say because when the UK joined the EEC in 1973 and the electorate voted in a referendum in 1975 for continued membership, youngsters who had come of voting age shortly after were not asked what they thought.

Well, circumstances were different, the margins were nowhere near as close at 48%/52% and I believe, in hindsight, we did a lot of things in the 1070s that we wouldn’t do now – giving Jimmy Savile and his ilk free reign at the BBC for one thing.

My point is, in 40 years, one would hope we have progressed and would strive for better – to be better and to do better.

Well, Jeremy Corbyn, this week saw Gilette ask all men to “Be the best a man can be”. My challenge to you is to be the best man you can be because at the moment you are falling far short.

As Leader of the Opposition, you owe it to the 48% plus, who have been left mute for two years, to change tack and back a People’s Vote to decide Brexit once and for all.

I think I understand why you have failed to do so up until this point. I think you have backed Brexit because you fear losing the support of some at the next General Election. Those from former mining communities and the like, who are unskilled and have poor prospects since industry closed and found more economically viable alternatives.

But in trying to safeguard their interests, you are ignoring huge swathes of Labour supporters who see the massive benefits in remaining in the EU. What about them?

It is time you realised that Brexit is bigger than the next election. It is bigger than the Labour Party. It is bigger than the Conservative Party. It always has been. Brexit is about our children. Brexit is about our grandchildren. Brexit is about the future prosperity of our nation. Brexit is about protecting workers rights, the rights of the disabled, the rights of women. Brexit is about advancements within the scientific and medical community. Brexit is about ensuring another 70 years of relative peace on our continent. Brexit is about keeping a strengthening far right extremism at bay. Brexit is about holding our four countries together as a nation.

So, Mr Corbyn, if you are the man of integrity that your supporters claim you are, it is time to put your self interests aside and act in the interests of the UK as a whole regarding Brexit. It shouldn’t take a wool shop owner from Brighouse to spell this out to you – back a People’s Vote.

For a long time I have toyed with the idea of creating a “Bollocks to Brexit” yarn to make my own feelings known and that of countless others. I held off because I really wasn’t sure how people would react.

Last night I took to social media and asked: “Is it the will of the people that there should be a Baa Baa Brighouse Bollocks to Brexit yarn?”

Instead of being berated by a bunch of angry faced gammons who immediately started raiding their stash for any Baa Baa Brighouse yarn to burn on a collective pyre, I was met with a resounding “yes”.

Mr Corbyn, if I can ask the question, why can’t you?

Baa Baa Brighouse is backing a People’s Vote. To demonstrate our support we will be releasing a limited edition hand dyed yarn called “Bollocks to Brexit” with £3 of every skein sold going to the People’s Vote Campaign.

The yarn will launch on Sunday January 20th at 10:00 GMT and will be exclusively available from Baa Baa Brighouse.