Theresa May wrote last weekend in “The Sunday Telegraph” that she is determined to get the best Brexit terms for the UK, that there will definitely be no second referendum on the issue and that she will deliver the will of the British people.
Meanwhile, Michael Barnier has made it very clear last weekend that the terms of the Brexit deal that Mrs May is proposing are completely unacceptable.
On Monday morning, Boris Johnson wrote, also in “The Telegraph”, that the UK will get a very bad deal out of this “war” with Europe and the UK will “remain in the EU taxi, but locked up in the boot.”
Apart from the disastrous consequences of any form of Brexit, I remain very concerned about the general abuse of democracy that is at the root of this mess.
First off, as I have written before in this blog, the UK is very far from being a functioning democracy: unelected “representatives” in the House of Lords, a first past the post electoral system with moveable, electoral boundaries, laws passed by two opposing parties screaming verbal abuse at one another, and so on.
Secondly, Theresa May talks stubbornly about delivering the will of the British people. Quite apart from wondering how this woman, who opposed Brexit two years ago, can now try to deliver something that she doesn’t really believe in, why does she pretend to be deaf to the voices of the majority of the UK who now regret the Brexit vote and want a second referendum? She is obviously a disciple of Winston Churchill who once wrote that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
The older generation, who ignorantly voted for Brexit, now realise that they, unlike the younger generation, will not have to live with the devastating consequences of Britain leaving the EU and are open to a second vote. They realise now that the anti-european posturing of the gutter press over the decades was actually all lies. The younger generation, many of whom are usually not that interested that in politics, now realise that they should have taken part in the referendum and want a second chance. Those in the middle now realise that, as a result of the terrible way in which the negotiations are being handled, Brexit will be a disaster and they too would prefer a second referendum. Millions of Britons, from successful entrepreneurs such as Euan Sutherland to the GMB are now rightly calling for a second referendum.
I only hope that Theresa May, whose political career has been over for many months now, has an epiphany and gives the British people want they really want: the opportunity to say that they have made a mistake and that they would like second chance to put things right before more multi-nationals move their offices and factories to Amsterdam and Frankfurt. And before an already flailing economy descends into dramatic recession.
If this does not happen, the UK, Europe and large parts of the world will remain increasingly polarised. More Obamas will become Trumps, more Mays will become Johnsons. We will see more Putins, Erdogans and Assads emerge on the political stage while racism and brutality increase on our streets.
Come along, Mrs May, stop hiding your political failure behind your abuse of the word “democracy” and give the British people what they want. History will honour you for it.
“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.” Franklin D. Roosevelt.