Questioning the ethics of Euroscepticism

In a UCL Lunch Hour Lecture delivered last week, Professor George Letsas, a specialist in the philosophy of law and human rights from UCL laws, set out some of the ethical underpinnings of the Brexit debate. The lecture formed part of UCL's wider programme of being a forum where the most critical issues facing society can be aired and discussed. As such, audience members from both sides of the Brexit debate - some who voted leave, others who voted remain - asked questions of the speaker. These stimulated discussions about the benefits or otherwise of supranational European organisations, the way the referendum process was conducted, and whether there would be any possibility of its review. Key to Professor Letsas' views on Euroscepticism and Brexit is the importance of looking at the issue from an ethical perspective. This perspective is different from much of the debate surrounding the lead-up to the referendum, where both sides of the debate focused on issues of identity (that is, whether voters felt European or not), and the cost-benefit or economic rationales behind leaving versus staying. The lecture, in this respect, represented an effort to bring more and diverse ideas to the ongoing discussion about the UK's departure from the EU.