The point that’s missed so often in Brexit commentary is the long-term impact on prosperity, stability and security in Europe (the UK, the EU, and beyond).

Brexit is a selfish unilateral act with continental and global implications, done with no concern for its impact on others. https://twitter.com/fabianzuleeg/status/1190236309849292804

To be honest, it’s this that keeps me awake at night.

The effects will be felt for a century. Cooperation and stability undermined at a point when the continent and the world are facing massive crises, and needing multi-lateral action desperately.

As @FabianZuleeg points out, there is no doubt that security cooperation will be harmed by Brexit. Yet more worrying though is his point that UK and EU regional and foreign policy objectives will inevitably diverge, and may well be set on a collision course.

It’s easy to imagine a situation with a populist UK govt and an EU that’s run out of patience where even basic cooperation is difficult to impossible. Or where the UK pivots towards other populist or authoritarian states as allies.

Or, where non-cooperation politically with the EU spills over into non-EU structures involving the same member states, such as NATO.

This stability in the continent, which notwithstanding Macron must continue to be extended, has been hard fought for.

To think that the UK will be in some way insulated from what happens in Europe by unilateralism, stupid Global Britain slogans and Brexit is total folly.

It’s these concerns that make me think that the choice of whether or not to vote for a party you don’t normally support to stop it is a relatively trivial one.

It’s not just the next 5 years in the UK at stake. It’s a century for an entire continent.

Our continent.

I’ll get flack for the “relatively trivial” remark, so here’s clarrification.

Deciding how to vote is not trivial at all personally.

In the big scheme of things though, & up against the stability of an entire continent and threats to the Western alliance, it is, comparatively.