If they'd gone into negotiations like grown ups, like other countries that have had no referendums on some EU treaty or other, and tried to achieve a better deal then gone back to the people we might not be in this self-inflicted mess.

No, we immediately got the guilty promoted and content free slogans like "Brexit means Brexit", a slogan that clearly demonstrates the level of esteem our politicians have for the electorate.

It's so clearly a slow-motion train wreck that I am astonished there hasn't been a real parliamentary attempt to actually stop it or avoid it. No, keep going until we are firmly over that cliff. As someone else said we can have an easier and more rational conversation on religion.

Still it'll give Brits plenty to talk about "what might have been" for the next 40 years as we sink further into insignificance.

One of the issues is the federalisation of the European Union.

I don't know what could be done to address that though, it's not something that can be undone I would have thought without huge political and economic consequences.

Although IMO it’s not possible to have a monetary union without some kind of federal law. In addition, EU isn’t poised to compete with other world’s superpowers unless it gets its shit together (e.g. EU countries competing amongst each other to offer lowest corporate tax etc.).

Although tax "dumping" is infuriating, it's not the major problem within the EU (look at Delaware tax code vs the rest of the states, and USA is doing fine economically speaking).

The real issue for the EU is the lack of financial and political solidarity. You can bankrupt a EU country and expect the others to pick up the tab, even if there nothing written down in the EU constitution saying so. The Syrian migration issue is a glaring example of a lack of political collaboration.

EU countries needs to acknowledge the fact they are actually tightly bounded to the union and make changes in the way the EU works to reflect that situation.

...and those are only recent issues. Ghosts of WW2 are still alive and doing better thanks to the extreme far right and Russian trolls.

"Brexit", tonight on the Hallmark Channel.

The issue is that the leaders of several countries in western Europe seem to not listen at all at the public frustration.

I sympathize with Brexit voters, I would vote to leave the EU at any given day if given the chance.

So, basically ignore the result if you don't like it?

The Bolsheviks also gave fair elections a shot....one shot....one and done.

Would you please stop taking HN threads in flamey directions? Hopping straight to Bolshevism is a perfect example.

Yes, as it was a nonbinding referendum to see if there was support for leaving the EU, come up with a report showing some numbers that indicate the estimated impact and run the whole thing again.

Indeed, referendums cannot be binding in the UK, because that would be taking sovereignty away from parliament.

There have only ever been 3 national referendums in Britain. One to join the EU, one to leave the EU, and one over Alternative Vote. They used to be considered unconstitutional, a tool for demagogues. I would be happy to ditch them forever.

and if Stay wins, of course the result will be treated as Final?

If a future referendum indicated that there was no longer support for leaving the EU, then yes, the government would not be in a position where it needed to take further action - call that "treating it as final" if you wish. Of course, in the future it could be reevaluated, using the same approach that led to the 2016 referendum to leave the EU.

Heck, we have confirmation dialogs when you close a word document - I don't understand the opposition to having an "are you sure you want to quit?" for brexit.

Brexit is a pretty major decision, and it's not unreasonable to me to require that the majority that voted for it is in fact stable and consistent via holding a second vote. If the second vote does not indicate that a majority supports leaving, that seems like an indication that it was a fantastic idea to hold a second referendum.

As much as the 1975 referendum to join was final!

The British Empire was final, as were the other colonial powers; the Soviet Union was eternal, the Third Reich was supposed to last a 1000 years. Meanwhile, shift happens.

The primary leave slogan was "Take back control" to the UK parliament. What control does parliament have if a referendum is binding?

We either have a direct democracy, or a representative democracy, not bits of each as suits someone's point. Up until the first EU referendum in the mid 70s they were considered unconstitutional in Britain.