One of the key points of indictment of the EU, favoured by those in the Leave campaign chary of venting raw xenophobia in public, was the “democracy deficit”. “Take back control” they said. Decisions about Britain need to be taken by the British parliament, rather than by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. The British people need to show they are capable of governing their own fate.
Well, apparently we need to put Britain on the list of those countries whose culture is not yet ready for democracy:
Electoral services workers have reported calls from people asking if they could change their decision after Friday’s result became clear, while some publicly admitted they intended to use a “protest vote” in the belief the UK was certain to remain in the European Union.
Among those who “democratically” chose to take us out of the EU was
Mandy Suthi, a student who voted to leave, told ITV News she would tick the Remain box if she had a second chance and said her parents and siblings also regretted their choice.
“I would go back to the polling station and vote to stay, simply because this morning the reality is kicking in,” she said.
“I wish we had the opportunity to vote again,” she added, saying she was “very disappointed”.
My email inbox is full of solicitations from friends promoting a petition for a second referendum. That’s not how it works, I’m afraid, even if the petition has gathered close to 3 million signatures. It’s done.
Common Infirmities 
David, nevertheless don’t these expressions of regret open a door for politicians to decide that the referendum does not actually oblige Britain to leave the EU?
If the government were looking for a way out of the referendum — which is not legally binding, after all — they would have better arguments than this one, particularly since there is no way to confirm that those now claiming regrets actually voted as they said. But I expect that the politicians will feel obliged to carry this command out to the letter, despite the narrow margin, owing to the higher value placed on sporting values than on good sense in British politics.