Sorry for a lack of postings but I have had other things to worry about

Over the recent weeks I have been involved online, via a FutureLearn course, in extensive online debates on the recent referendum.

At a time when we are remembering the horrors of the Battle of the Somme I am saddened that so many people are distrustful of our European neighbours and have decided to up anchor and sail the United Kingdom ship out into the unknown.

Don't get me wrong - there are many things wrong with Europe - but all large organisations have problems and none are perfect. To me the threat of a third world war, fought by terrorists, is far more dangerous in the short term - and climate change will present future generations with far more serious challenges. 

What will happen next? The winning side is crowing that "Britain is strong" at a very time that our "democratic" system is presenting a soft underbelly to the world. An internal squabble in a government voted for by less than 25% of the electorate escalate the row in a way that leaves the country bitterly divided. Any government which calls a referendum which could radically change the country without having a fully prepared "Plan B" is grossly incompetent. At the same time the opposition is falling apart because of the failures of past governments to properly address the London/Rest of England divide. The captain of the ship has caste off from the shore without getting the approval of parliament (which is the body elected to make such decisions) and then falls on his sword. The captain-presumptive has been knifed in the back by his colleagues who say that it will be impossible to keep some of his promises. People who simply look life foreigners are being insulted (or worse) in the streets.

At a time when we are showing the world that we are too incompetent to govern ourselves properly we expect the rest of the world to take us seriously!!!!