Julian Sturdy (York Outer, Leave) clashed at the end of March with Rachel Maskell (York Central, Remain) as covered in The York Press (HERE). It was reported that:
Mr Sturdy said he firmly believed leaving the EU could be good for York
I was interested in his use of the word "could". It is not even an unqualified could. He adds the extra caveat that he only "believed" it could be good. If you were to idly flick through a dictionary to look up the meaning of the word could it might say something like this: modal verb, Use "could" to indicate that something is possibly true, or that it may possibly happen. i.e.
Mr Sturdy said he firmly believed leaving the EU could be good for York
I was interested in his use of the word "could". It is not even an unqualified could. He adds the extra caveat that he only "believed" it could be good. If you were to idly flick through a dictionary to look up the meaning of the word could it might say something like this: modal verb, Use "could" to indicate that something is possibly true, or that it may possibly happen. i.e.
I could be crushed by a carrot cake outside a dressmaker's shop in Billericay next week
Elvis could be discovered playing Sancho Panza at The Sunderland Empire in 2018
A palaeontologist could win next year's Tour de Yorkshire riding a cast iron unicycle.
I should say the above are not very good examples. Compared to Brexit they are racing certainties. In fact I am just off to the bookmakers to see what odds I can get with a £5 accumulator including all of them. I see it as a rock solid investment. You wouldn't get me risking anything on leaving the EU being good for York.
