I doubt if I am the only Brit who is despairing
about the fate of the nation, who has been bamboozled by the violent turns of
policy over Brexit and whose faith in the honesty of politicians and the
integrity of government officials has been all but extinguished. We have
witnessed the blatant abuse of our cherished institutions by our tin-eared
Prime Minister, by the fevered Speaker, by a fetid battalion of office-crazed
Ministers and by a mob of cynical third-raters masquerading as sane Members of
Parliament. At a time when leadership was clearly needed, we have been given
empty slogans, can-kicking delays and shameful manoeuvres creating a vacuum that
populists are certain to fill and from which they will reap tangible advantage.
Yet hand-wringing gets us nowhere and we must make Brexit a Renaissance and a
triumphant Renewal.
 |
Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and Dominic Grieve
– they missed the bus and will be discarded
Brexit has divided us grievously into Remainers
and Leavers. This distinction is far too absolute, as there is a range of nuance modifying every individual’s
attitude to this issue. As a Brexiteer I do not question the good faith of most
opponents other than that of the outright Wreckers, who seek to kill Brexit by
hook or by crook, irrespective of public opinion. The country voted for Brexit
and all the man in the street expects is that his politicians deliver it in a
reasonable form. If the UK and EU cannot agree terms, then the UK leaves with
no deal – a pity, but entirely in accordance with the referendum vote. Vested
interests in government, in business, in the City and in the professions fear
change but they will have to adapt to the inevitability of Brexit; most are
doing so without any great fuss. We do have to re-learn how to operate as an
independent country – as we did quite adequately from 1066!
Brexit has consumed us since 2016. We need to
raise our heads and consider the many other issues which matter to our nation,
including:
-
The
financing of public services in education, in the NHS and in social care.
-
The
priorities of defence policy in a changing world.
- The effectiveness of government in devolved
entities like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland or the “Northern Powerhouse”
- The
value given by large infrastructure projects like HS2, Heathrow expansion and
the Oxbridge Corridor.
-
Reform
of the House of Lords and changes in the voting system.
-
Creation
of a fairer tax system, cracking down on avoidance.
-
The
preservation of rural Britain and the protection of its fisheries.
-
How
to improve the productivity of British industry.
-
Restoring
some degree of safety to our crime-ridden urban areas.
It may well be that Brexit has dislocated the
party system for generations just as the repeal of the Corn Laws did in 1846. I
can foresee a rump of Tories Leavers making common cause with formidable Nigel
Farage in a new party of the Right, heirs to the traditional conservatives. Another
more amorphous grouping would unite the “wetter” variety of Tory Remainers with
Lib Dems and would attract eco-warriors, bourgeois protesters and the
tender-hearted in general. Welsh Nationalists and the crypto-fascist SNP would
occupy a dark and dismal corner, hopefully a rapidly diminishing band. The
admirers of agitation, turmoil and Marxist-Leninism would stand with Corbyn and
the rump of Labour on the Hard Left.
 |
Dominic Raab, Nigel Farage, Yvette Cooper –
Future Leaders?
After Brexit, heads will be cleared and the Old
Guard will be either defeated or discredited. New ideas are bursting into bloom
and some old values will be revived. I am pleased that Westminster itself will
soon be closed for a major refurbishment – its procedures are in dire need of
modernization. Just as Notre Dame de Paris will return changed but with its
finest elements retained, so the Palace of Westminster can discard its fustian,
govern honestly and finally serve its electorate – we want to be proud of, not
mired in shame by, our great Parliamentary institutions. We want to be a united
nation once again.
SMD
18.04.19
Text Copyright ©Sidney Donald
2019
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