THE BRITISH REFERENDUM, AGAIN (February 11, 2014)

As The Guardian reports today, an important political poll shows that the support for Nigel Farage’s UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party) has risen to twenty percent compared with thirty-five percent for Labor and twenty-five percent for Tories. The pro-European Liberal Democrats languish at nine percent of the vote, just ahead of the Greens, who are at seven percent. This goes along with the expected rock-bottom turnout in the ballots for Brussels, as the poll shows that only twenty-seven of respondents plan to vote. In short, the British are turning against the European Union. And how. The referendum to leave the Union thus seems to be ever closer (“The British Referendum,” January 24, 2013). As far as I am concerned, this is just as it should be. If the Union does not change its ways in the meanwhile, it is best abandoned for good. Given its proclivities, though, it will remain moribund no matter what. As a Briton, I remain ever more comfortable with the contemplated referendum (“Cameron Bids Europe a Churchillian Goodbye,” June 12, 2012). And I may even cast my vote accordingly.