Comments by "Nigel Johnson" (@nigeljohnson9820) on "Populism or democracy? Swedish MEP takes on Nigel Farage in Euronews panel" video.

  1. There is no conflict between populism and democracy. The most popular view is by definition that of the majority.
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  2.  @XiagraBalls  I think you are conflating more than two points. It is unrealistic for average people with work interests outside EU politics to understand the details, but that applies to populism and democracy. I qm not going to comment on Nigel Farage knowledge or lack there of. There is an imbalance between how easily the UK joined the common market and was sucked into he EU and the difficulty it is having in leaving. Many of the instructions you mention post date the common market that the UK joined and have been created in the era of the EU. In some ways the electorate(s) in the UK and across Europe have acted as absent landlord, allowing the politicians with vested interests to play. Populism is a sign that they are waking up and taking notice of what the eurocrats and politicians have been doing in their absence and they don't like what they see. They may not understand the detail, but they understand the principles and they want change. It should be noted that in the UK, brexit was the first chance since joining the common market the public have had the option to express an opinion on the direction the EU was taking the UK. No matter which side of the brexit debate you sit, it cannot be denied that the referendum was a large scale display of democracy in action. In the referendum every one of voting age had a chance to vote. Every vote counted equally on a single issue question. No matter the complications in implementing the result, the question was simple; remain or leave the EU. Article 50 provided a similar unambiguous option. The UK voted to leave the EU, applying the principle that It was a free independent sovereign country before it joined, it was reasonable expect to return to that state, everything else is noise. The UK public were ask to give a directive to government, they did and they expect it to be carried out, if there are complications, they are of the politicians making. The politicians have exceeded their authority and mandate and have just been found out.
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  3.  Jan Schlossar  those who failed to express an opinion, tacitly sided with the majority by not voting. The majority view of those who voted was to leave the EU.
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  4.  @Godhorus  Spain takes decisions for the basques and the catalans. Again another example of EU double standards.
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  5.  @Godhorus  the people living in these regions might disagree with you.
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  6.  Jan Schlossar  the EU is the biggest parasite. The brexiteers are fighting to be free of this parasite and live in an independent country again.
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  7.  @Godhorus  the UK government gave Scotland a referendum on independence and the vote was to stay. Spain has refused the Basque and Catalan people a similar vote on self determination. It is interesting that you want independence for Scotland and Wales, yet no mention of independence for NI. Could it be that you see the former as an inconvenience for the UK government, while the latter would free the UK from EU control. Shame the Northern Irish have no wish to leave the UK, they like the £20 billion support they receive from the rUK. Any serious analysis of Scotland prospects outside the UK, shows it would be a financial basket case in a matter of months. The EU has repeatedly shown that they consider the assets of the member states as theirs and its own assets as theirs also. Scotland would quickly find that it's assets, such as it's fishing waters and and remaining oil reserves would be quickly taken over by the EU. One of the main reasons for voting leave, is the parasitic nature of the EU. If Scotland became independent and some how joined the EU, I wonder if the EU would continue to pay same grants to Scotland as the rUK does. I wonder if the Scottish government will be willing to give back the devolved powers it currently has from Westminster to the EU burocrates. Like the RoI, Scotland would have a strange sort of sovereignty, that constrained by the commands of Brussels. A situation that is only going to get worse over time.
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  8.  @matthewgill9587  i have no objections to a second referendum, provided both sides again have the chance to put their case. The question would need to be the same as last time, a straight leave or remain. I have no interest in a vote for Mrs May's deal, which has already been rejected as a trap. A second referendum has a number of advantages for those who want to leave the EU. It sets a precedent for a third referendum, should the UK have changed its mind this time. It return the UK to the position it was in before the last referendum, making it much easier for us to elect MEPs with a mandate to destroy the EU from the inside. So if you want a s done referendum,I really do not mind. I have no doubt hat the EU will soon be trying to close the article 50 escape route, a bit like the Spanish constitution does. In the end leave will win, as the EU is destined to tear its self apart, it is the fate of all empires, particularly those built in Europe.
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  9.  @KDoc1951  I am not advocating a reduction in UK standards, I want to see them increased. Apart from their practical value, they also act as trade barriers that protect the UK market. I want higher standards, just different from those of the EU. That should ensure that the EU can no longer dump products on the UK market.
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  10.  @KDoc1951  as a vegetarian I don't want beef from anywhere, but I would prefer the UK meet its own needs in beef production and not import any from elsewhere. I would expect to use UK standards to block imports that do not reach UK standards for food safety and animal welfare.. Its worth pointing out that EU standards are not as good as you claim, given the recent bad meat scandal, where sick and diseased animals found there way into the EU food chain. I take your point about NI, unless of cause you edited your comments. But my comments about Northern Ireland stands.
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  11.  @Godhorus  I propose that the EU will attempt to close the article 50 escape route and hold EU member states in the EU in the same way Spain is holding its member states together, locked in, without an exit, by the constitution. If you object to the Provence's beng called states, get use to the reverse when EU member states are nothing more than Provence's of the EU super state? All members of the EU are deluding themselves that they are sovereign. They only need to disobey EU directives to discover that. They are even more constrained as members of the URL zone, ask the Italians for proof.
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