Brexit: Will there be a second referendum?

In this week’s UpFront, we debate Brexit and the prospects of a second referendum with Daniel Hannan, Conservative Member of the European Parliament and Lord Adonis, former Labour Cabinet Minister.

And we talk to Julian Castro, a former cabinet official in President Barack Obama’s administration and a possible future US presidential candidate, about immigration, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and his vision for the future of the Democratic party in an age of Trump.

Arena – Does Brexit mean chaos for the UK?

Brexit is less than six months away, and the British government is no closer to agreeing an exit deal with the European Union, despite another round of negotiations. Would another referendum be undemocratic? And what would the consequences of a ‘no deal’ would look like?

A no-deal Brexit could result in food and medicine shortages in the UK, warned the National Farmers’ Union and the National Health Service trust.

Are some of these stories exaggerated? Or was the Brexit vote in 2016 a total mistake? And if public opinion is changing, should there be a second referendum?

“A second referendum would be utterly illegitimate,” says Daniel Hannan, Conservative member of the European Parliament and a senior “Vote Leave” campaign committee member. He also added that he “would not vote in a second referendum”.

Joining Daniel Hannan to debate Brexit was Lord Andrew Adonis, Labour peer and a supporter of remaining in the EU. He asked Hannan whether or not he was advocating that people boycott a second referendum.

“Is [Hannan] calling for people who are in favour of leaving the EU to boycott a referendum, and therefore to try and make democracy inoperable in Britain? Is that what he’s saying?” asked Lord Adonis.

In this week’s UpFront, we debate Brexit and the prospects of both a suitable deal and a second referendum.

Special interview – Trump border detentions: ‘State-sponsored child abuse’

In a special interview, Obama cabinet official Julian Castro discusses Trump’s border policies and Obama’s own record on deportations.

Top US Democrat Julian Castro also suggested he will “likely” run against US President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

A former San Antonio mayor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Obama, Castro has been campaigning for Democrats in several states ahead of the US 2018 midterm elections.

In his new book, An Unlikely Journey: Waking up from My American Dream, Castro expressed his shock at Trump’s election back in November 2016 and is extremely critical of Trump’s immigration policy that separated families at the borders.

“I consider it state-sponsored child abuse, and basically kidnapping of kids from their parents,” says Castro. He describes Trump as “an abysmal failure”.

When challenged about Obama’s own record on deportations, Castro responds that “the totality of a record” should be looked at, even though he concedes he was “not comfortable” with how the issue of immigration was handled at the time.

Castro thinks future administrations should avoid “the kind of trauma that the Trump administration is inflicting on these kids” but also “meet the needs of border security”.

In this week’s special interview, we asked Julian Castro about his vision for the future of the Democratic party in an age of Trump.

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