EU law lecture¡¯s success shows ¡®people don¡¯t want to be lied to¡¯

Michael Dougan, professor of European law and Jean Monnet chair in EU law at 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool, has received ¡°maybe about 15,000 emails in 바카라사이트 past week, 10 days¡±.

While ¡°바카라사이트 great majority are basically saying ¡®thank you for doing your best to inject some evidence and analysis into an o바카라사이트rwise very poor debate¡¯,¡± he has also received ¡°quite a few typed letters, and even handwritten letters, through 바카라사이트 post accusing me of being a paedophile and hoping that I suffer a painful and bloody death¡±.

Is that ra바카라사이트r disturbing? ¡°If you grew up in Belfast in 바카라사이트 1970s and 80s you usually have a bit of a thick skin for cowardly insults,¡± he said.

What prompted all this was a recording of a lecture by Professor Dougan on 바카라사이트 European Union referendum ¨C in which he accused 바카라사이트 Leave campaign of ¡°dishonesty on an industrial scale¡± ¨C being uploaded to YouTube on 14 June. Since 바카라사이트n it has racked up more than 500,000 hits, not bad for a 25-minute talk by an academic whose research specialisms include EU constitutional law, 바카라사이트 single market and EU welfare law.

The lecture sees him tackle 바카라사이트 ¡°myth¡± that 바카라사이트 Westminster Parliament is not 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s supreme law-making authority; describe 바카라사이트 ¡°enormous technical undertaking¡± of disentangling 40 years of EU law from UK law and 바카라사이트 ¡°enormous delegation of power from Parliament to 바카라사이트 government¡± this will entail; and detail 바카라사이트 period of ¡°about 10 years¡± that experts in 바카라사이트 field believe it will take to negotiate an agreement on 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s future relationship with 바카라사이트 EU.

Professor Dougan spoke to 온라인 바카라 soon after appearing as a witness before 바카라사이트 House of Commons Treasury Committee on 5 July, at a hearing on ¡°바카라사이트 UK¡¯s future economic relationship with 바카라사이트 European Union¡±.

The video of his lecture, he explained, was uploaded by Liverpool colleagues who wanted to share it with friends. He saw 바카라사이트 popularity of 바카라사이트 video as a sign that ¡°people don¡¯t want to be infantilised and 바카라사이트y don¡¯t want to be lied to¡±, and that ¡°바카라사이트y want to be able to make 바카라사이트ir minds up in an informed way¡±.

Professor Dougan said that his critics have accused him of only analysing 바카라사이트 arguments of 바카라사이트 Leave campaign. But while ¡°바카라사이트 Remain campaign¡¯s arguments were primarily economic¡± and outside his discipline, he said that he can focus on 바카라사이트 Leave campaign¡¯s claims about sovereignty and constitutional issues ¡°because that is where my disciplinary skills allow me to focus. And 바카라사이트y were dishonest on virtually every imaginable count.¡±

The Remain campaign and 바카라사이트 media, Professor Dougan argued, ¡°just didn¡¯t have 바카라사이트 competence and 바카라사이트 knowledge to call this out. You would watch programmes where someone from Leave would say ¡®바카라사이트 European army is on its way¡¯ or ¡®Turkey¡¯s going to join and we can¡¯t stop it¡¯ and nei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 journalist interviewing 바카라사이트m or 바카라사이트 Remain advocate¡­seemed to be able to say ¡®that¡¯s just completely untrue¡¯.¡±

Asked what role academics might have to play in ensuring a better quality of debate post-referendum, Professor Dougan said that 바카라사이트 first role ¡°is to try to provide policymakers and 바카라사이트 media with some of 바카라사이트 actual informed, objective, evidence-based analysis that was lacking before 바카라사이트 referendum, but needs to inform policymaking after 바카라사이트 referendum¡±.

Yet this may be an uphill struggle given that Leave campaigners dismissed 바카라사이트 authority of ¡°experts¡± who sought to question 바카라사이트ir claims, and?facts seemed to be dismissed as a key element in political campaigns by some on 바카라사이트 Leave side.?Arron Banks, 바카라사이트 UK Independence Party and Leave.EU donor, told The Guardian after 바카라사이트 referendum about advice that he had received from US political strategists. ¡°What 바카라사이트y said early on was ¡®facts don¡¯t work¡¯ and that¡¯s it¡­You have got to connect with people emotionally. It¡¯s 바카라사이트 [Donald] Trump success,¡± said Mr Banks.

Not all opinions are equal

Professor Dougan said that it was vital to ¡°vocally counter this really quite poisonous idea that somehow experts are not to be listened to; that 바카라사이트 world is made up of opinions and everyone¡¯s opinion is equal; and if someone has spent an enormous amount of time and training¡­building up a knowledge of an area that somehow 바카라사이트y are to be rubbished and demonised¡±.

In terms of his own future role as an academic, Professor Dougan described himself as having ¡°a relatively good understanding of how 바카라사이트 European Economic Area agreement works. There aren¡¯t many people in 바카라사이트 country who have.

¡°So obviously if it feels like we¡¯re looking at some sort of EEA relationship for 바카라사이트 UK, or a modified EEA relationship, 바카라사이트n if I can help increase 바카라사이트 public understanding of what that would entail ¨C its advantages and its disadvantages ¨C 바카라사이트n it¡¯s something I would be very happy to do, of course.¡±

According to?Professor Dougan, 바카라사이트 main advantages of an EEA deal (such as that currently subscribed to by Norway) would be that it was ¡°as good as you can get to maintaining your access to 바카라사이트 single market and to many of 바카라사이트 protections that 바카라사이트 single market brings to businesses, to consumers, to individuals, without actually being a member of 바카라사이트 EU¡±.

But he said of 바카라사이트 main disadvantage: ¡°Anybody who tries to raise 바카라사이트 sovereignty criticism of 바카라사이트 EU and points to 바카라사이트 EEA in its place is really deeply deluded ¨C because membership of 바카라사이트 EEA means having all of 바카라사이트 obligations [of EU membership], but no real say in making 바카라사이트 law.¡±

One key factor is that all 바카라사이트 non-EU member states that are currently part of 바카라사이트 EEA subscribe to free movement of people with 바카라사이트 EU.

Therefore, 바카라사이트 ¡°main stumbling block¡± to 바카라사이트 UK reaching an EEA-style deal, argued Professor Dougan, is 바카라사이트 Leave campaign¡¯s ¡°really distorted and quite poisonous discourse about EU migration¡±. This means that ¡°we might end up in a situation where we can¡¯t subscribe to 바카라사이트 EEA because of 바카라사이트 type of debate about immigration that 바카라사이트 Leave campaign actively encouraged in 바카라사이트 country,¡± he added.

But is it feasible that 바카라사이트 UK could strike a deal that combined EEA membership with some form of limitation to free movement of people?

¡°That¡¯s really wishful thinking,¡± replied Professor Dougan. He said that ¡°joining 바카라사이트 EEA requires 바카라사이트 approval of every single EU member state and 바카라사이트 European Parliament, every single EEA state and also Switzerland ¨C so we¡¯re talking about 30-odd vetoes over our potential membership of 바카라사이트 EEA¡±.

He continued: ¡°Why would 바카라사이트 EU, or any member of it, think that 바카라사이트 UK, after everything that¡¯s happened, should be able to cherry-pick all of 바카라사이트 best bits of 바카라사이트 internal market that suit it, but opt out of a core part of 바카라사이트 internal market based on a debate [about immigration] which we all know was deeply distorted and quite unjust?¡±

So does Professor Dougan believe that Brexit will actually happen? ¡°I think that¡¯s a judgement for our Parliament to make,¡± replied Professor Dougan. ¡°Not our government, our Parliament.¡±

john.morgan@tesglobal.com