We are the 48%

When the EU is to meet with May’s new team of leave-negotiators it should act accordingly. Yes, it’s bitter. Yes, we’re angry and sad – but so are the 16 million people in the UK that actually voted to remain; so are the youth in Britain, and those who weren’t eligible to vote. But it’s important to note that tyranny of the majority is something we oppose in modern Europe.

In the words of Sir Winston Churchill “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others” – the man who called for a united states of Europe, will turn in his grave if the Britain he once knew, of conservative modernity, were to leave the European project. Democracy does not ensure we will do what is right, or that the majority vote can’t be questioned. Soon after, people googled “what is the EU” and many who voted leave regretted their choice, 4 million people signed the petition, calling for a second referendum.

And who are we, to banish the seventh member of the European community? Of course, the referendum results must be respected and acknowledged. The UK is leaving the EU, but as Knut Frydenlund, a former Norwegian foreign minister said: “Norway’s no to the EU, was not a no to Europe” – in the same way, Britain’s place will hopefully still be at the heart of Europe.

It’s difficult to say exactly what and how much the UK should receive of special benefits from the EU when negotiation their models. Norway’s model is not an option because of the aspect of free movement nor is the Swiss model preferred. The UK, an important player on the international and European scene is risking being frozen out of both the EU and Europe – in stark contradiction to what almost half of their people want.

No, the EU cannot offer the UK “cherry-picking” in the negotiations. They can’t refuse to follow the four freedoms and still take full part of the single market, nor can the EU shut its door completely on the island just outside the French coast.