The referendum was advisory as authorised by Parliament, not mandatory. Parliament insists on being consulted but all parties have agreed to accept the result, so long as Britain and it people in all parts of the Union, do not suffer.
While the 16 million who voted Remain were voting for a clearly defined prospectus, the status quo, Leave voted for an objective, exit the EU, without any specification as to what this would entail in practice. It follows that if Leave meant house prices dropping by two thirds, 6 million unemployed and war with Germany, the outcome of the referendum would have been different. I am being ridiculous to make the point. The absence of any specification of what Leave would entail and the lack of any kind of plan to implement it, or as it now turns out even a clear understanding of the lawful process to follow, makes the referendum peculiarly unbalanced.
The failure of Cameron to keep his promise, stay at his post and send off the letter triggering Article 50 immediately, has created a chain of events and a vacuum of action which has called into question the whole project in its entirety. Formally triumphant Brexiteers are now almost unhinged with anger that Leaving involves adherence to the Law. The parliament whose sovereignty Leave was determined to restore, has become the very sovereignty they now wish to deny. This is not an Executive democracy; it is a representative one and the sovereignty of the people is exercised by them through parliament.
Leaving the EU is a gigantic undertaking with huge consequences, as yet unquantified, which may not all be good and which may in the end impact most cruelly on many who voted for it. It is not the same as getting up and leaving the restaurant because you don’t like the cooking. There is now confusion about process, objective, outcome and impact. Hard core leavers are both angry and abusive and in some unstable personalities, even violent. But, and this is a big but, they may no longer be in the majority. The latest poll reveals that the majority would, given a second chance, vote Remain. The margin is about the same as the Brexit result only reversed. Clearly to work Brexit has to have a high degree on consensus between both sides, or we face a sundered nation and a broken union.
What a mess.