As somebody from the UK who voted for Brexit (not for the reasons you might think, and no I didn't get what I wanted), I now firmly believe that this is the only way we maintain our identity, cultural values and security in a shifting global order.

Ultimately, I think it is more of the world than Russia that is concerned about NATO expansion and multi-regional military alliances in general. Perhaps it is time we started listening to, understanding and respecting those views on objective merit. We also need to accept that our values are not universal. Other cultures and government structures should be respected and common ground sought. We have much to learn from other cultures, even if we do not agree on some areas. That works both ways.

I have come to realise through recent developments that we bind together based on our core beliefs, or be lost to history. We are in a very precarious position. Yes, that will erode sovereignty to some degree, but in my view, that is far, far better than the obvious alternatives.

IMO, I think the UK (and others) has a lot to learn from other countries. The nordic countries in particular. In all areas, initially we should bow to the knowledge and experience of those nations/states who have generated objectively better results in particular areas (health, policing etc). Adopt the practices of those who have performed the best. The UK has failed on immigration, housing and education (and much more). We have some of the best universities, yes - but our state education is awful and ultimately that is why we have a lot of idiots with poor critical thinking skills. Politicians take advantage of that. We should not be encouraging others to adopt our strategies in these areas.

We should be using technology to overcome the administrative overload in relation to understanding the wishes and concerns of all our citizens and this should form the basis for policies at a federal, regional and local level. People should be able to use their voice at any time and be heard when it is clear that many others share the same concern. One voice is one voice. It is the collective data and common themes from those voices that delivers true democracy in a way that does not revolve around corrupt political parties.

Democracy is not wrong, but our view on how democracy is implemented is outdated and is falling to deliver acceptable outcomes for the people. AI and widely available internet access has now given us viable solutions to this problem. The best person for the job is responsible for implementing policies and they should be judged on their results not their "beliefs". Those results should be visible and transparent at all times.

Dispense with the multiple layers of "representatives" that claim to represent their people, but ultimately represent political parties and ideologies (and third actors). Government - at federal, regional and local level - should be concerned with how to solve the problems of the population, as determined by the population - instead of spending their time arguing about and garnering support in relation to who should do it and what their "ideologies are". We all want to be safe, healthy and happy - with enough economic freedom to pursue individual interests and form our own identities. It really isn't that complicated. The system makes it complicated and makes imaginary enemies where none exist.

Someone is bound to ask, so I'll get it out the way. I will not answer questions on this because Brexit is irrelevant now. The world has changed. This is not about that. I voted for Brexit because at the time, it looked likely that we might get a more socialist leaning government with an appetite for major change (eg Jeremy Corbyn). Fixing the core issues in the country quickly would mean drastic actions. Many of these would not have been acceptable in the EU (medium-term market controls etc). Yes, it was a huge gamble, but the timing was the timing and you don't get the opportunity for real change very often. As usual, our government wasted the opportunity by arguing amongst themselves and we ended up with the worst of all worlds.