The danger for Leavers is if tonight’s developments provide a peg to de-legitimise the Referendum outcome
“The idea… that the campaign was legitimate is false.” A Brexit insider accuses Vote Leave of cheating – in response the PM’s political secretary denies the claims and “outs” the accuser as gay. #TheBrexitWhistleblower pic.twitter.com/srWVPtz7E8 https://t.co/Hzjfe0hxkk
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) March 24, 2018
The OBSERVER: "Brexit insider claims Vote Leave team 'may have broken law' #tomorrowspaperstoday
??? pic.twitter.com/Xw9S2dl2Yc
— Michael Savage (@michaelsavage) March 24, 2018
Ever since June 23rd 2016 the main reason for going forward with Brexit is that, based on the referendum result, it is demonstrably the will of the people. There’s a strong argument to say it would be undemocratic not to go forward.
What tonight’s coverage on Channel 4 news and in some of the papers might do is cast doubts on the legitimacy of the vote itself. In the UK we operate strict rules on expenditure on elections and, if it can be shown that the rules were broken then who knows where this might lead?
The referendum outcome was tight and it would have only required a swing of 1.9% for Remain to have been the winner.
Vote Leave is said to have sent a staggering 1.5 billion Facebook messages to 7m voters in the closing stages of the campaign. If that is what the disputed funding helped to generate then these developments could have potency.
Whatever this is just going to widen the gulf in opinion just as things appeared to be settled.