The Principle of Subsidiarity must also take account of the capacity and discernment of those called upon to take decisions. In the case of the EU Referendum it appears that a substantial proportion of the population felt ill-equipped to make such a momentous decision. The arguments put forward by both sides were seen to be speculative or incapable of verification. The atmosphere in the TV debates took on the character of a prize fight where the verbal triumphs of “your man” prevailed over any concern for the common good. Weakness and dysfunction in the Brussels bureaucracy is widely acknowledged but it need not require abandonment of the process.