Inflammatory language

[Ossian]

That doesn’t mean it was a major issue in most if any elections until a few years ago. It was a minority concern that the Tory’s have either deliberately or accidentally made into an almost religious cult where common sense has been flung out the window and normal rules no longer apply.

The Eurosceptic wing of the Tory party was managed by Thatcher, who - for all her many, well publicised, spats with the EU - was never minded to seriously contemplate leaving; those same Eurosceptics were then faced down by Major over Maastricht. As you rightly point out Euroscepticism never appeared to do the Tories much damage at general elections - they were in power for all of the 80s and the majority of the 90s; eventually being replaced by a Labour Party who were, if anything, more kindly disposed towards the EU. 

Which is why Farage, the ERG and sundry other Eurosceptic ideologues were so keen to separate the issue from general elections and make it the focal point of a binary referendum; and Cameron - for reasons only he will ever really know - fell for it. 

Ironic that Johnson would now like to repackage it into a GE campaign and is being thwarted by the opposition benches.

[baggy1]

The bottom line is this - Things have been good for a long time in the UK for the majority of the population, for the people who haven't had it as 'relatively' good the issues were nothing to do with the EU. Why we have decided to change things based on theoretical ideals I simply can't understand.

It doesn't matter what I believe now because on the 31st October we will be leaving by the looks of it. The argument will still rage on because Farage is not happy with any deal and the pro-Europeans will want to take us back in. Scotland and Northern Ireland will continue to be issues because of leaving and it will lead to another Scottish referendum. This will continue for a generation.

Things really weren't that bad to result in doing this to ourselves.

[Derek Hardballs]

The bottom line is this - Things have been good for a long time in the UK for the majority of the population, for the people who haven't had it as 'relatively' good the issues were nothing to do with the EU. Why we have decided to change things based on theoretical ideals I simply can't understand.

It doesn't matter what I believe now because on the 31st October we will be leaving by the looks of it. The argument will still rage on because Farage is not happy with any deal and the pro-Europeans will want to take us back in. Scotland and Northern Ireland will continue to be issues because of leaving and it will lead to another Scottish referendum. This will continue for a generation.

Things really weren't that bad to result in doing this to ourselves.

It's a potential triumph of stupidity over reasoned argument. Where truth is now inconsequential, where people have conned themselves into believing they voted to leave without a deal, where a magic money tree didn't exist but then it did, where we have a government ran by a serial liar and a unelected 'advisor' with a front bench that have gone back on every utterance they said about parogueing (spelling) parliament, the EU, wanting / not wanting an election, getting a great deal for the UK, Operation Yellow Hammer the list is becoming longer than the PM's nose.

The Tory Government may think they have cobbled themselves back together but they have lost the middle ground, they have wrapped themselves in a little England flag, lurched to the right and are now the Brexit Party in all but name. Their decisions now and the results of those decisions will define their party for decades to come and those 'bumps in the road' may see the wheels, doors and bonnet fall off as they travel down little more than a dirt track.

[bradesbaggie]

This Brexit shit started because some tax-dodging Eton twats hoodwinked an austerity-ravaged nation into thinking their Tory-created misery was really the fault of the EU.

[baggy1]

In a nutshell yes

[Derek Hardballs]

This Brexit shit started because some tax-dodging Eton twats hoodwinked an austerity-ravaged nation into thinking their Tory-created misery was really the fault of the EU.

Not all just the gullible

[billybassett]

This Brexit shit started because some tax-dodging Eton twats hoodwinked an austerity-ravaged nation into thinking their Tory-created misery was really the fault of the EU.

Yes. But also because Cameron's ego thought he could put the Tory party EU issue to bed and get himself another couple of terms cementing himself as a great amongst priministerial statesmen and women over the past 200 years. The sheer arrogance of what he did with so little prep should never be forgotten. He is effectively to Brexit what Hitler was to the Third Reich.

[baggy1]

This Brexit shit started because some tax-dodging Eton twats hoodwinked an austerity-ravaged nation into thinking their Tory-created misery was really the fault of the EU.

Yes. But also because Cameron's ego thought he could put the Tory party EU issue to bed and get himself another couple of terms cementing himself as a great amongst priministerial statesmen and women over the past 200 years. The sheer arrogance of what he did with so little prep should never be forgotten. He is effectively to Brexit what Hitler was to the Third Reich.

As long as you're not overreacting there 

[billybassett]

This Brexit shit started because some tax-dodging Eton twats hoodwinked an austerity-ravaged nation into thinking their Tory-created misery was really the fault of the EU.

Yes. But also because Cameron's ego thought he could put the Tory party EU issue to bed and get himself another couple of terms cementing himself as a great amongst priministerial statesmen and women over the past 200 years. The sheer arrogance of what he did with so little prep should never be forgotten. He is effectively to Brexit what Hitler was to the Third Reich.

As long as you're not overreacting there 

I know terrible isn't bullingdon boy pryk