The EU is not a supranational institution, despite claims to the contrary. In fact, EU decisions require consensus among the 27 member states. This simple fact is, astonishingly, ignored by many commentators. Furthermore, the illusion of "national independence" is increasingly risible in our globally interconnected world. If you want to see what true stand-alone independence looks like, North Korea is the prime example.

Meanwhile, we face challenges that can only be addressed by widespread international cooperation. The pathetic lies of the Brexiteers and the equally pathetic ignorance and racist nostalgia of Brexit voters don't accommodate this basic truth. Brexit is a backward-looking hide-under-the-bed posture based on a mixture of infantile delusion and sheer stupidity. Add to this the Brexiteer posture of "we can sign international agreements and then break them whenever we feel like it because laws don't apply to us" and we see that the UK is not only doomed to become a squalid little backwater but has also lost all credibility on the global stage - and no one trusts the UK at all. So when there's no trust, there's no nothing at all. No relevance, no influence, no ability to work purposefully toward a better future.

The idea that "democracy" can be saved by the UK becoming an irrelevant impoverished rule-breaking backwater is amusing, but about as far from reality as it is possible to imagine.