What is the definition of ‘the will of the people’?

krish

Wow, this is almost a carbon copy of me and my thoughts. I used to watch Pat but also stopped watching for the same reason. I was also torn on leave/stay but the status quo won out for me. Now I would consider myself a firm remainer but I still have issue with aspects of the EU, nothing is perfect.

SteakAndCake

I believe you are right about voter remorse but not the reforendum vote, more like remorse at the numties we then voted in at the GE expecting them to see it through.

Bl4ckGryph0n

There was another referendum to change the way the system worked, people didn't want that either...

Sonic67

I don't get why people are objecting to the term.

It's just a political term to describe that it was a democratic decision made by the country as a whole.

Get over it.

THX1138UK

It's from a French philosopher. Bloody cheese eating surrender monkeys abusing the Queen's English. Etc.

General will - Wikipedia

In political philosophy, the general will (French: volonté générale) is the will of the people as a whole. The term was made famous by 18th-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

EarthRod

Stuart,

The term ‘the will of the people’ is simply used to mean ‘the majority of the people who cast their vote were in favour of leaving the EU’.

I don’t think there is anything particularly contentious in that particular expression. It’s true of all elections - the result is ‘the will of the people’.

Perhaps ‘the will of the electorate’ would be better? But that’s probably taking pedantry a little too far.

Regards,
James.

Pecker

The will of the voting public.

EarthRod

I think it's the wrong question.

'The will of the people' pre-supposes that's something we all support, because we all (or at least most of us) support democracy.

But what do we mean by 'democracy'?  We're not a direct democracy, we're a representative democracy.  That's the system which has brought western liberal democracies such massive success, wealth, peace, and freedom.

We should never have had a referendum, because that's not how we work.

That aside, having a binary choice on what is clearly such a complex issue was a ridiculous idea.

Just one final point, surely the result of the referendum means we should stay.

Let's see, 48.1 to 51.9.  Okay, so we voted to leave.  But how?  No deal?  Hard Brexit?  May's deal?  Common Market 2.0?  Customs union?  Ultra-soft Brexit?

I'll stick my neck out and say that all, or almost all of the 48.1% who voted to stay would want us still to stay, but if we have to leave it should be with the softest possible Brexit.  The other 51.9% will be split as to how hard or soft a Brexit they'd prefer, but logic would dictate that at least 2% from that 51.9% would want a soft Brexit.  So now we only have a majority for a soft Brexit.

At least 2% of the rest would argue that, unless we get a Brexit which fully restores parliamentary sovereignty (blah blah), we might as well stay, and the 48.1% would agree.

So no Brexit, then.

Cliff

...So Wales shouldn't have a self assembly then

LV426

So another way to interpret 48 is bigger than 52. There are so many links on Facebook and what app showing how, with some manipulation of figures, remain actually won.
By the way, I don't think most voted for a particular Brexit. Those that voted just wanted to leave. Although we probably had something in mind as to our future relationship, it was down to our government to negotiate a good way out. (Which they have failed to do).