The Legitimacy of the Brexit Referendum and What We Can

These could include the roles Parliament and the devolved institutions have played in the process, recognising the different majorities across the UK.3 But the focus here is on ‘input legitimacy’: who was given a vote in the first place, and whether those given a vote could make a reasonable choice in light of the campaign. [...] Some authors have instead advanced the ‘all-affected’ principle (AAP)—that those whose interests are affected by a decision should be able to influence the making of it.8 The AAP thus determines the scope of eligible participation on the basis of the scope of the decision at hand. [...] 9 The Legitimacy of Brexit Paper Series #3 Sandra Kröger the Brexit Referendum tabloids have for decades run a campaign against the EU,50 as documented on the eve of the referendum by The Economist.51 More often than not, the cues the media and others pick up are provided by political leaders. [...] 10 The Legitimacy of Brexit Paper Series #3 Sandra Kröger the Brexit Referendum ConCLuSIon The democratic legitimacy of the British in/out referendum in 2016 depended on certain criteria: the franchise, the presence of clarity, the amount and quality of information, and the adequacy of public debate. [...] In such a situation, and given the manifold claims about how the decision needs to respect the ‘will of the people’, it only seems reasonable to go back to the people, now that the options have become clearer.