‘Will of the People’ – “people voted… outcome must be respected”

THE ‘Will of the People’ was a phrase coined by 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution.  It is also the title chosen by Bishop Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, when he delivers the 2019 Harold Wilson Lecture – at the University of Huddersfield on Tuesday 9 July (6pm). 

Nick Baines is a regular commentator for the media and also leads for the Church of England on Europe, including Brexit.  He has regularly commented on the country’s EU Referendum, which saw the ‘Will of the People’ being claimed for the Brexit vote, albeit by a small majority.

The ‘Will of the People’ as Rousseau wrote was “a public and solemn declaration of the general will on an object of common interest”.  Although it may have had value in the French Revolution, it has since had its critics, one arguing that the concept achieves little more than the State subjecting its citizens to the supposedly ‘infallible will’ of the majority.

As the UK falls divided on the issue of Brexit, many may well agree with this conclusion.

Nick Baines is a member of the House of Lords and is a respected commentator.  He has 15,000 followers on Twitter and his blog, Musings of a Restless Bishop, regularly attracts hundreds of views.  He is frequently a guest on BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball Show (and before that the Chris Evans Show) and presents the Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4.

On the subject of Brexit, he is a firm ‘remainer’, believing that it is better to reform from within than to stand alone with no say. 

Though a remainer, he also believes in the democratic process: that the people voted and thus the outcome should be respected.  A second referendum, he argues, raises as many questions as not having one.

Still he is concerned about the real outcome that Brexit will deliver and feels that a whole generation, for upwards of a 25-year period, could suffer, particularly those from poorer backgrounds.

“We are a much divided country,” he says and is concerned about how these divisions can be reconciled.  In the eyes of others across the world, he feels that the country has lost its credibility as a competent democracy. 

Speaking in a recent debate in the House of Lords, he was also highly critical of the conduct of current public debate, which he described as “toxic”.  He cited recent examples of abuse, threats and violence and reminded people of the appalling murder of the Batley and Spenborough MP, Jo Cox.

“People are voicing violence that would have been deemed unacceptable three or four years ago, but which now is normal.  This poses a danger to our democracy and corrupts the nature of our common life.  It’s is not neutral and it is not trivial.”