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  1. Politics
23 June 2016

Referendums cheapen our democracy – here’s why

We elect MPs to make decisions, not to outsource them. 

By Julia Rampen

Thousands of mourners had gathered in Trafalgar Square, London, to celebrate the life of the murdered MP Jo Cox on what would have been her 42nd birthday. The speakers urged them to put aside politics for a moment, to focus on love, not hate. And then the plane buzzed overhead. 
When I looked up, I saw directly above me the banner proclaiming: “Take Control – Leave” as the plane raced across the sky. 

The plane organisers later said they had no idea what was going on. But to me, this obnoxious intrusion symbolised only too clearly the way referendums trespass on our daily democratic lives. And when it comes to referendums, I’m a veteran. 

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