As in all things, it's not quite as straight forward as that, mind. For although the combined results put the Leave camp on 52% and the Remain camp on 48%, England and Wales voted to offski from the EU, whilst Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay.
The campaigns fought by both sides were rather negative, with some downright lies hoisted upon the populace as complete facts. How that isn't illegal, I do not know? Is there any other walk of life where you would be allowed the unbridled freedom to con folk to such an extent? Well, apart perhaps from those pedlars of landline broadband with their 'up to bazillions of Mbps' on offer.
I steered clear of the televised debates. Politicians trying to shout each other down is such an unedifying spectacle, the only winners, I suspect, being ear defender manufacturers.
Predictably, my own view on the referendum was governed by the best outcome for wildlife, which put me firmly in the Remain camp. Not that the environment featured anywhere in the whole debate to any great extent. However, whatever your view of the EU, its Habitats and Birds Directives provide an amount of protection for the ecology of a continent. And I do not think anyone has any great hopes of a deregulated UK giving a second thought to concreting over vast swathes of Nature.
Now that the people of the UK have spoken, it will take some time for the situation to resolve itself, as there doesn't appear to be a Plan B. And, I suspect, there wasn't a Plan A either, beyond trying to bluff the EU into yet more concessions and change the leadership of the Conservative party.
So, with the pace of change and the multitude of pressures upon the environment increasing, the natural world will go back to doing what it does best, evolving to cope as best as it can.
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2 comments:
Lovely blog Mr W
Thanks, JD, it was one of the harder ones to write.
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