Several years ago, I retired to bed amidst a raging debate, which at the time I naively believed to be too one sided and furthermore, with a preposterous worst case scenario given even less thought or the attention that in hindsight, it dully deserved, I nodded off into a dreamless sleep.
On that fateful evening 23/06/2016 the ballot’ booths had closed and the count had begun in earnest to learn what had been decided by the referendum on the United Kingdom’s continued relationship with the European Union, would be. The choice was simple enough, “Yes or No” (in or out) for after all, the main protagonists had had their say, waffling on as they did about the benefits one way or the other and now it was the turn of the people and boy, had they to be heard.
I awoke that following morning at silly o’clock, true to form for an insomniac and then, with coffee cup in one hand and the TV remote in the other, I took up my position on the well trodden leather armchair I had retrieved from someone’s front lawn, for such is the throw away society that I belong and I hit the on switch on the remote. Instantaneously the screen burst a ray of light into the tiny bedsit, pushing back the darkness into the corners of the room. I fingered the remote, switching channels one after another until my wearying eyes caught sight of a familiar face. The very words I had heard uttered first were, “and there you have it” and I immediately understood them.
OMG I looked on incredulously for there in front of me upon the screen, a graph depicting the map of Great Britain’s four United countries looking anything but United behind the choice given to them to decide on. The results, with the exception of several small outlaying islands, who’s choice would make little impact now, were decided and the referendum, to all intents, concluded?
Northern Ireland and Scotland refering to remain with the European Union and England and Wales choosing to leave. The choice of course wasn’t to be decided on this outcome but on the number of combined votes cast and even here, whilst the vote was a closely contested one, an overall majority of 17.4 million people had won the contest to leave with 16.1 million people left unsure about what this actually now meant to them.
There was of course celebrations going on but these were muted in comparison to the hullabaloo created by the losing side. The streets were not thronging or indeed buzzing and as far removed from any meaningful celebrations it’s conceivable to visualise, as the air was filled instead with an omnipotent atmospheric silence.
“David Cameron” on just his 366 day as Prime Minister, having secured his parties first parliamentary majority in many a year, when returning to power with a mandate to do less of more than the previous coalition had done similarly, announced to the world’s press that he felt it necessary to take responsibility for the result, having preferred that the country remain aligned to the European Union and would therefore step down prior to the upcoming conservative parties conference scheduled for in October, in order that a new leader could be installed and on the 13 July he duly resigned. His successor Theresa May won a brief contest to succeed him but not before two rounds of voting within the party had been decided.
One candidate who’s chance on becoming the next leader, an ex-London mayor, Boris Johnson withdrew his candidacy after Michael Gove an initial sponsor of Mr Johnson’s dropped his support for him, preferring after some consultation with colleagues, to have as good a prospect of winning the parties support, and he in turn alas, fell in the very first round and I felt that his treatment of Mr Johnson had damaged his prospects and that was perhaps his colleagues appreciation too. This in turn split allegiances within the party and eventually a candidate was elected after Andrea Leadsom, after acknowledging the wonderful opportunity to stand, felt that in the best interests of the party, that she too should step aside to bring the party together at such a difficult time. Mrs May after an audience with the queen, was asked to form her next government and this she surely set out to do. Her selections, ‘predominantly remainers, would exasperate the process to negotiate in principle, an agreement on a withdrawal that provided security not only for each of the four nation’s that formed the United Kingdom, but particularly regarding continued good relations with the European Union.
What would this mean I thought for the citizens of Northern Ireland, who with their own executive directive on sharing power between the unionists, those for whom who’s loyalties were aligned to Great Britain and the republicans, who’s own allegiance for a united Ireland within Stormont being suspended after Martin Guinness, the republicans “deputy first minister” at Stormont, withdrew his support siting health concerns. These would rightly fear that they would be used as a pawn during these tense negotiations and that it would seriously bring into question and perhaps even jeopardise the “Good Friday Agreement” and consequently, undo two decades of peace in the province. The “Troubles” as they had come to be known, brought sectarianism onto the streets and terrorism flourished, with each of their respective Communities notching up appalling casualties in the province and indeed further afield in both the republic and on mainland here in Britain.
For the overwhelming majority of these four nations that form the United Kingdom, it’s inhabitants by and large, feel as I do, leave that political door well and truly shut and only respond when absolutely necessary and even then, they do so reluctantly, hesitantly and are as much inclined to tick the box of an individual within their community, who actually say and nod with the wink of wisdom, when regurgitating the nonsense that should resonate with them. The all smiling, all knowing rhetoric they spew, we have all otherwise come to understand as, lies, more lies and should their candidate win, even more damned lies, until they next come knocking. This vote however changed their interest, mine too, for the significance of that vote became abundantly obvious to anyone with even half a brain and I count myself amongst the witless, even though I did not cast my vote. It was, I believed, a one horse race, that to help it cross the line would have been adding insult to injury for having the audacity to compete, but the nag had won, taking everyone by surprise and this was especially true for the victors.
How naive such an obtuse comment was presumed to rally a nation such as Gt Britain will flummox me indefinitely, for as the Americans would say, period. Get lost why don’t you, for I shy away from an expletive laden rant here, though I would dearly love to indulge that swine. Pompous fool, enabled the spirited amongst the populace to rise as one, middle finger engaged, for as one, they remonstrated, I’m Spartacus.
Delivering on the pledge to provide a referendum was commendable, particularly so when the emphasis of it’s being, a once in a generation opportunity, was heralded as a generational choice. Lending weight to it’s significance on the world stage, a Mr Barack Obama, the then most powerful man in the free world, pronounced the relevance of the country’s importance of remaining within the European Union, because to choose otherwise, our country’s ability to secure any trade deal with America, would see the country standing at the back of the queue.
Let’s be frank here, whomsoever chosen to deliver this wish would need to accept the outcome of the referendum, to own it as their own and to therefore gather about them a team so powerful, so damned sure of what was being asked of them, and yet, it would not have mattered a jot because this is about as poisonous a challis, as any parliamentarian could possibly ever get to hold. Mrs May’s skills or lack thereof, had now a perfect storm on her hands, and whether with or against her, her opposition on the other side of the debating chamber within the houses of parliament, would sorely and as assuredly remind her, of their presence. In her acceptance speech, upon becoming the parties elected leader Mrs May articulated the herculean task in front of her admirably but stressed the significance of upholding the will of the people and indeed the promise made to deliver on the referendum. Of course, I thought to myself, though I knew this to be something much greater even than the delivering of a simple mandate on improving the welfare state, or having better public transport or any other simple grievance to date, would be child’s play in comparison. On the 13/07/16, Mrs May was formerly invited by HRH QE2 to form her next Government, thus becoming only the 2nd woman in British History to become prime minister. It must have seemed surreal, peer support to lead her party, an audience with the Queen, forming a Government and then a mere week later 20/07/16 to have to face her first PMQ’s,
Mr speaker; This morning, I had meetings with administerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties to this house, I shall have further such meetings later today. She then begins with some name dropping, a scheduled meeting that afternoon with the German Chancellor “Angela Merkel” and on the morrow, a further face to face meeting with the French President “Emmanuel Mocron”. Talk about having a chaotic start, but then, lifting one’s head above the parapet, but particularly so on the international stage was surely going to attract some mischief. Following this drama, I can assure the reader here, has been anything but easy. I’m no politician and indeed I have absolutely no training whatsoever in the legal profession and have therefore been left dumbfounded by the share volume in rhetoric and gobbledygook to know which theme to follow as I am taken thus one way and then another, going up when I believed that the elevator was going down and I feel that I have been dragged through to many hedges to count, to know what round we are in. Yet my enthusiasm for this particular journey has not been dampened, although I have felt like a damp squid out of water at times. You too I know will have most certainly felt as I have at times no doubt, if not all of the time, for our voices have been drowned out of the conversation by the volume and scale of it all. This has been anything but like, an ‘In or Out door, a revolving one of which there seems no escape more like. Mrs May‘s team to negotiate the United Kingdom’s withdrawal would be pitted against the European Union’s chief negotiator, a Mr Michel Barnier and his staff in Brussels. What’s to discuss for after all, it’s hardly like the island of Great Britain was truly ensconced with their partners across the channel, or that was the mantra coming in fits and starts whenever existing law was superceded by those introduced by the European Supreme Court on Human Rights, becoming enshrined into British law, for us all to share. We nevertheless retained our own currency, spoke our own language, even drove on the opposite sides of the road for heaven’s sake. I liken it to a seamstress being asked to unfurl the cardigan she’s produced just prior to shipping it on to her customer, eagerly awaiting its delivery in order to pick-up on a dropped-stitch, that has blemished it’s otherwise flawless appearance. For almost 40 years now, the United Kingdom of Great Britain has become as intricately woven into the fabric that has seen the development of the European Union become what it is today, a Goliathion. Our respective governments, which enabled it’s growth, have aligned themselves with the concept of inclusivity and have nurtured this sense of togetherness for the furtherance of developing, albeit haphazardly our ownership of something better, that we might all of us feel a part of. I watched on from my little window as this scheme developed, delighted in the necessity for change and was welcoming of those benefits that brought about significant development within communities, which would have taken many years to see such growth otherwise. I was and perhaps may still be naive but I am not witless or dumb, for I have agonised and fretted over issues evolving before my very eyes and felt at times so overwhelmed by the implications formulated in my own mind. It is not however so difficult to identify what has been the cause, for which the effects have yet to be realised, that makes me so restless and troubled. On the contrary, one concern after another and the speed in which they are announced, that it almost takes one’s breath away, for the ferociousness to deliver without prejudice, actually damned well does. The country’s mad must be running the show, with ‘Broadmoor’s, criminally insane having the reigns and we have become numb with the weight of despair upon our shoulders, to care anymore. That wouldn’t sound so stupid but for the crazy logic of having to question such concerns over how much straighter bananas must now appear to the roundness of apples and their uniformity. What then of having to throw back fish caught up in a trawl net, pulped in the cod-end, for the sake of preserving species of fish otherwise deemed to be to small to eat.
Politicians the world over have been complicit and remain complicit for their own selfish ends. They have shared each other’s ambition to succeed to a position beyond their wildest dreams. Ambassadors of a world fuelled by greed, to postulate over the harm otherwise ignored by the network that they themselves helped create. Obfuscatory statements bewilderingly conceived to agitate when they are indeed the other side of which they speak. Liars one and all.
The Nation of the United Kingdom that is Great Britain ceased to exist some time ago. The creation of devolved government and rolling out of regional assemblies, has galvanised member countries within to evolve further, to hardwire nationalism to such a degree ,that the auspices of Westminster to deliver for the whole of the country can no longer survive as it’s functioning head. Brexit has created a constitutional crisis, of that there can be no mistake. Nationalism is a powerful decider of fate and it’s inception within this debate will have far reaching consequences for all involved in tearing down the edifice that had otherwise made us strong, the country of Great Britain. Divide and conjure is the most single important issue that has driven the European Union, as it has been with all previous efforts of any pretentious fist that buckles an adversarial wanting to protect their own identity from the monster at the gate.
Alighting from any vehicle will have some hazard before it is stationary and that is true of the organic and ever evolving crusade that is now upon us. The implementation, when rolling out the red carpet welcoming diversity within the framework otherwise inclusively white, yet far from being homogeneous, but particularly weakened by proportional representation and our having to recognise cultural differences and adopting and enshrining into law their demands for parity of esteem, will eventually mean the usurpation of the culture preceding it, it cannot go any other way.
Mrs May, stood in front of a packed commons, commending her statement to the house before the parliamentarians exited to the lobby to cast their respective votes, only to learn that the negotiated deal satisfied hardly anyone, least of all to the party which conceived of the idea to open up such a Pandora’s box, in the first place. It was a pointless gesture, this meaningful vote convinced no one and allowing it merely prevaricated that knowledge, infuriating me all the more. Outstanding I screeched, accompanied by an expletive laden rant to noone in particular, I was after all ‘alone, and without means to address my frustration, I set off for a cycle ride to clear my thoughts and to perhaps consider doing something better with my time, than dine on despair at our parliamentarians ever managing to resolve this most arduous of conundrums. “The Meaningful Vote” or the actual mechanism by which under article 13 of the United Kingdom and European Union withdrawal agreement Act 2018, to bring forward an amendable parliamentary motion at the end of Article 50 negotiations, in order to ratify the Brexit withdrawal agreement. Failure to agree on this would mean applying for an extension and this absurdity has brought about several such delays. Don’t you just love parliamentary democracy in full flow, no, me neither.
Just prior to the civil war that was to rage on the island of Ireland. It’s most influential republican Michael Collins, had been given plenipotentiary powers to negotiate Ireland’s future relationship with the United Kingdom. He was faced with a formidable opponent in Winston Churchill. It was Churchill’s belief that to relinquish sovereignty over the entirety of the island, would effectively leave a back door open to any future adversary. Michael Collins was faced with a stark choice, accept the conditions for the creation of a free state without six of its counties, or face the total destruction of realising his dreams, with the threat of an immediate deployment of 30.000 troops let loose on the island. What both these men understand more than their own aspirations, when wishing to find, let alone accomplish a solution, was the mutual respect that each of them had for one another. As technical tacticians they both reigned supreme in the art of subterfuge, masking with consummate ease their abhorrence of each’s exact meaning to accomplish their actual goal, but to support each other, they each would need to provide to the other in perilous circumstances, assurances that enabled each of their own ideas to come to fruition. Invasions on islands after all, always occurred from off the sea. Whilst this was a significant achievement for the soon to be recognised republic of Ireland to now forge it’s own destiny, not everyone would celebrate. I draw your attention to the aforementioned because of the scenario currently being debated in parliament. Whilst of course there has not been a declaration of an immediate occupation on these shores, a war of words does nevertheless proceed war in one form or another. Fortuitously for us, in this instance, our war will be on tariff’s on our future trading relationship with each other. These negotiations will take much longer than any principaled alignment, or at least they bloody well should do, if indeed there is any truth on delivering to its citizens, the return of their sovereignty. Therefore a negotiated settlement on a way forward does appear to be the correct approach, however, what then are we struggling to understand about the sticking points, all of which coincidentally, were never given to the electorate to better appreciate the decision that they were asked to base their informed choice on, ‘of, in or out, ‘remain or leave, tick in a single box if you please. Triggering Article 50, was further proof of an administrative blunder of epic proportions. Why on earth would you push someone towards a precipice, knowing full well that there wasn’t any room to manoeuvre, let alone a way out.
