Lack of knowledge is the single biggest problem here

People don't have a clue about the role of the EU, and because of this a lot of liars and charlatans have been able to spread a lot of disinformation unchallenged.

During the referendum campaign it became clear that because of my career I know more about the single market than most others in the campaign, never mind the rest of the population. However there were huge and important issues that I did not really know anything about.

The person on the "Stronger In" campaign I reported to was very knowledgeable about the Article 50 process because of her background (which is much more impressive than mine). That is a big subject that very few people grasped in any way.

The issue currently dominating and derailing negotiations is Northern Ireland, which again, hardly anybody on this side of the Irish sea grasped at all.

With so little understanding of the issue or what is at stake, it was easy for "Vote Leave" to turn the referendum into a contest to see who can lie the loudest. EU membership cannot be decided in any credible way by such a referendum.

And this is why I refuse to "respect the result" as Brexshitters wish. That would be like accepting that the world is flat just because the Flat Earth Society had persuaded people otherwise.