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The Smoking Ban, the Seat Belt Law, and How to Fix Brexit
Should politicians do what we want, or what they think is best?
Amidst the current Brexit saga in the U.K., it seems that clarity around the very fundamentals of British democracy is becoming increasingly murky. It’s fascinating, and depressing, how few people seem to understand how our political system works—including plenty of people elected to Parliament.
On the radio, I heard a member of Parliament say that, because his constituents voted to leave the European Union, he was obliged to vote in favor of May’s Brexit proposal. This is a deal that has almost universally been acknowledged as bad for the country. His decision to vote this way seems to be unaffected by the fact that his constituents, like many others in hard leave-voting areas, will undeniably end up poorer and, in many cases, unemployed.
Brexit is clearly bad for the economy. I don’t think even Brexiteers argue otherwise now.
Last week, Nissan announced it was backing out of plans to manufacture its new SUV model at its plant in Sunderland, which can easily be linked to Brexit. This decision will lead to job losses now and fewer jobs being created in the future. The city of Sunderland voted 61 percent in…
