[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Kursk

Nope, I like the Mail and I read it nearly every day. I know that many here don't hold it in much regard but my point is that to be truly representative, a full spectrum of popular curent opinion better serves forum discussions. The ban by Wikipedia has nothing to do with it; I don't regard Wiki or the Mail as the definitive factual source but both contribute to my understanding of an overall picture.

I wasn't criticising you for sharing a Mail link btw; in fact, I have noticed and am grateful that you have diversified your sourcing to include Mail references. We cannot ignore the popular press, believing that it is in some way an embarrassment to the intelligentsia; everyone's point of view matters as does everyone's vote. There are people in politics who still don't seem to want to grasp this.

I was simply making the point that, whichever sourcing you choose, it is invariably negative and perhaps especially so where Brexit is concerned to the point it would seem, of careful selectivity. On the forum that simply translates into polarising opinion and we need to move on from that imho.

Apart from anything else attrition won't change anyone's mind about anything and we won't find the required compromises in one upmanship-style posting.

Thanks for your post Kursk. All I would add is that a number of keen Brexiters have commented that I always find negative news about Brexit. I even joked about the other day when I posted a link to the news about Tuesday being the day for invoking Article 50. I've posted links to positive Brexit articles but searching out upbeat news stories about Brexit is not balance.

---------- Post added at 20:46 ---------- Previous post was at 20:42 ----------

Best Brexit article I've seen for a long time. It criticises remainers and leavers alike. I would commend it to everyone. It's written by Tom Kibasi, Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research. Here are a couple of snippetts:

Even now, Remain campaigners have retreated into the comforts of pointing to a base and deceitful campaign by the Brexiters, rather than seeking to define or to solve the deeper problems that led to the vote against the status quo. At the heart of the Remainers’ failure is their inability to understand the reality of daily life for many people and communities in modern Britain. They fail to grasp that the current economic model is not working for many people.

Many Remain campaigners note that, in many parts of the country, people feel they have not shared in the economic recovery. In most of the country, there has been no recovery: outside London and the south east, there is not a single region of Britain where have incomes returned to their pre-financial crisis peak. That is a fact, not a feeling.

In contrast, the Leave side cleverly seized upon the narrative of change during the campaign (before pivoting to false comfort since the result was declared). Leaving the EU was offered as the magical solution to all of Britain’s problems. Fake promises, such as £350m a week for the NHS or a new points-based immigration system were put on offer.

When challenged about the costs of Brexit, leading Leave figures continue to argue that the UK can enjoy all of the benefits of membership, such as frictionless, tariff-free access to the single market, while bearing none of the burdens. When asked about the challenges, they respond with false reassurances that everything will be fine, and nostalgia for our past, as if this is a prescription for the future. It is both because the Leave campaign was so deceitful and the real policy cupboard is so bare that many Brexiters have attempted to shut down all debate about Britain’s future since the referendum result was declared.

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...m-remain-leave