Cameron caved to the mouth-breathers in his party in having the stupid referendum, and set it up stupidly (moving the UK out should have required substantial majorities in each of the "countries" (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), not just an overall majority, not just 50% + 1, if the stupid thing were to be held at all).

Plus, having a referendum on such a complex international agreement is stupid to begin with. It wasn't buying a pig in a poke (with all kinds of disinformation from Russian agents and the like), it was buying Pandora's Box. There is no way that voters could make an informed decision about what the changes would entail. Elected representatives have the responsibility to make such decisions and the ability to shape the laws and agreements necessary based on hearings and testimony and evidence and all the rest. Voters simply can't do that in an informed way, and they shouldn't be asked to do so.

It was a disaster from the day that Cameron decided to put it to a vote. And it remains so.

The Parliament should trash May's plan, trash the idea of leaving the EU, and just forget it ever happened. (Being Sovereign, Parliament can do that.) It's the clear, sensible, and obvious solution. But the party leaders are (apparently) too weak to do so.

(sigh)

It's not a failure of Democracy. It's a failure of weak leaders.

Cheers,
Scott.