Hanging over this debate about the pros and cons of the deal is the question of what overturning it would do to the health of Britain’s democracy. Parliament has the legal right to ignore the referendum. But after a record number of people voted (to “take back control”, no less), it could be catastrophic for trust in mainstream parties if it were to do so.
圍繞該協議利弊的辯論一直懸而未決的問題是，推翻該協議將對英國民主的健康產生何種影響。議會有無視公投的法律權利。但在創紀錄數量的民眾投票(至少是“奪回控制權”)后，如果這樣做，對主流政黨的信任可能是災難性的。
In truth, the democratic argument is more complicated. The vote to leave was an expression not just of Euroscepticism but of a wider frustration. It exposed divisions by age, region and class that the old left-right party divide had covered up. Far from bridging those divides, the bitter arguments since the referendum have if anything caused the two sides to move even further apart. Overturning the vote would risk making them irreconcilable. But adopting a Brexit deal like the one on offer would be unlikely to heal those wounds. Indeed, to the extent that the referendum was a howl by the left-behind against rule by remote and uncaring elites, this form of Brexit could make those problems worse. Anger at unaccountable rulers would not be assuaged by a deal in which Britain followed orders from people it could not elect. And those keen just to get the whole thing over with might find that Brexit marked only the beginning of national argument about the relationship with the behemoth next door.
事實上，民主爭論更加復雜。脫歐公投不僅是歐洲懷疑論的表現，也是一種更廣泛的挫敗感的表現。它暴露了過去左右兩黨分裂所掩蓋的按年齡、地區和階級劃分的分歧。推翻投票結果可能會使他們無法和解。但是，采用英國退歐這樣的協議不大可能治愈這些創傷。事實上，退歐公投在某種程度上是左派對遙遠而冷漠的精英統治的抗議，這種形式的退歐可能會讓這些問題變得更糟。對不負責任的統治者的憤怒不會因為一項協議而得到緩解，在該協議中，英國聽從了它不能選出來的人的命令。而那些只想把事情辦完的人可能會發現，英國退歐僅僅標志著圍繞英國與隔壁巨頭關系的全國性爭論的開始。
Nor is it clear that the democratic thing to do is to hold people to the result of a two-year-old, narrowly won referendum, when the consequence of the vote has turned out to be quite different from what many voters expected. Polls suggest that a small majority now prefers Remain to Leave; more might prefer Remain to a compromise like the deal on offer. Almost all MPs want to respect the will of the people. The question is whether the people’s will found its perfect and enduring expression in 2016, or whether it might have changed.
投票的結果與許多選民的預期大不相同，表明繼續人民堅持兩年、以微弱優勢贏得公投的結果是否民主。民意調查顯示，現在有一小部分人傾向于留在歐盟而不是離開；更多的人可能更愿意繼續留在歐盟，而不是像現有協議那樣妥協。幾乎所有的議員都想尊重人民的意愿。問題是，人民的意志是否在2016年得到了完美而持久的表達，或者它是否已經發生了變化。
There is no simple way out of this endgame. Whether the Brexit deal is accepted or rejected, it will scar Britain for years. And yet too many politicians are still grandstanding. Some Brexiteers still pretend there is a Plan B that would deliver a painless exit. Labour is mainly concerned with forcing a general election. That needs to change, and fast. This momentous decision must be made in the most reasoned way possible and with the maximum information available. Politicians of all stripes have spent the past two years talking about the national interest. In the coming weeks they must weigh up where they think it lies.
沒有簡單的辦法走出這一終局。不管英國脫歐協議是被接受還是被拒絕，它都會給英國留下多年的傷痕。然而，仍有太多政客在嘩眾取寵。一些退歐派人士仍在假設存在一種無痛脫歐的“B計劃”。 工黨主要關心的是強迫舉行大選。這需要改變，而且要快。這一重大決定必須以最合理的方式作出，并提供盡可能多的資料。在過去的兩年里，形形色色的政客都在談論國家利益。在接下來的幾個星期里，政客們必須權衡一下自己認為國家利益在哪里。
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