The Right Honourable Theresa May said that she would quit if her deal was passed by the Commons. I kept a close eye on the media and I was waiting for the burning question to be asked; would she still resign if her deal wasn’t passed? It didn’t come. No-one asked it. It occurred to me, shouldn’t she announced her resignation if her deal WAS NOT PASSED by the Commons? If it had been passed, then surely after all the endless meetings with the 1922 Committee (for that is the year they live in), the European Research Group (who do not want to be European and do not research anything), with the DUP, with the Devil’s Unelected Advocates in Brussels, she would want to see the process through to the bitter, trainwreck end? A very strange decision; to do all the backbreaking, brain-frazzling, donkey work to get the deal passed, only for someone else to take over and grab all the glory. There again, is it any stranger than triggering Article 50 when she did not have a clue as to the terms of a leaving deal; thereby giving all the negotiating ammunition to the EU? All the flak is being aimed at the UK, but the EU must bear its share of the blame. Regardless of all the blah blah about the Backstop, what right does the EU have to dictate what type of border can exist between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland when the UK will no longer be a member of the EU? That is like telling Poland what kind of border it must have with the Republic of Belarus.
So now what? Is there going to be a leadership battle right in the middle of the Brexit impasse/faux pas? I cannot be the only person thinking that that would be an amazingly STUPID thing to happen. Just as the Right Honourable David Cameron bolted from his mess after losing control of his own party, will Theresa May leave us and her belovéd Tories in even more cloying Brexit mud?
The runners and riders are already being bet on. Michael Gove, a likely candidate for the top slot, replied to a question about being a contender in 2012: “I’m constitutionally incapable of it. There’s a special extra quality you need that is indefinable, and I know I don’t have it. There’s an equanimity, an impermeability and a courage that you need. There are some things in life you know it’s better not to try.” Well, Michael, you did try, but here’s the catch – power is just soooooo oozingly attractive. Maybe Gove genuinely meant what he said, but when the opportunity came, he turned into Bilbo Baggins as he sees the Ring around Frodo’s neck.
Another obvious favourite (wearing blinkers) is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. A lovely little twist in all this is that Gove worked on the Channel 4 programme ‘A Stab in the Dark’; Boris Johnson will know all about that after he played Caesar to Gove’s Brutus on the day the latter was due to announce his candidacy; only in the case of Boris, the stab was in broad daylight.
Mr. Pfeffel (why on earth doesn’t he use this surname?) is very modest and self-deprecating. His paternal grandmother, Yvonne Eileen Williams (also known as ‘Granny Butter’), was a descendant of Prince Paul von Württemberg, who was a direct descendant of George II, meaning that Boisterous Boris is a relative of the Royal Family and, therefore, part of the club of inter-married royals of Europe who, as we all know, are really either alien lizards or barking mad.
When told about his regal lineage, Boris said: “If you had told me that I was related to George II, I would have thought that you were absolutely crackers – not even Granny Butter could have come up with that one.” Oh come on Boris, you big, tousle-haired fibber! I’m sure you had your valet research your family tree before you could even walk.
Returning (inexorably) to Brexit, Sir Anthony Seldon, vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham and all-round clever bod, said: “The real essence of the problem is that the country voted to leave, but only just – another day it could have gone the other way.
“But these people here in Parliament predominantly want to stay.
“So is Britain a popular democracy, where the people decide the future, or is it these guys here, who are the representatives of the people who voted in general elections? And that’s really the nub of the problem.”
Exactly, Sir Ant, you’ve hit the nub on the head. Why elect representatives of the people to make wise and knowledgable decisions if you’re simply going to ask the unwise and unknowledgeable masses to decide on something as crucial as the UK leaving the EU? And that’s another nub, that no-one is man or woman enough to come out and say it; that at least 50% of the UK electorate are too ignorant and selfish to have a say in deciding the collective good of the nation. Giving all and sundry the vote is like asking a car mechanic how to best solve a global financial crisis.
If Brexit has done nothing else, the electorate is now more aware of the political scheming and double-dealing that goes on in the House of Commons, and it doesn’t like it. Essentially, a political party is an anathema to true democracy, simply because MPs are pressured and whipped into toeing the party line. Brexit has modified that, even creating a new party and, just maybe, even more parties will emerge. But, why have political parties at all? How would abolishing them change things in Parliament? Would it ‘hamstring’ the assembly, leaving it too disjointed to be able to take decisions? Well, that is exactly what has happened with Brexit; the majority voted to leave but the majority of MPs wanted to remain. The members feel obliged to honour the results of a referendum even though they know full well that too many people voted for 350 quid more for the NHS or for ‘independence’. Sounds great (‘Freedom’ sounds even better – ask Mel Gibson), but it’s doubtful whether most Zimbabweans would say that they were better off since gaining their independence.
“The UK is facing an uncertain future” No, it isn’t! It’s exactly the opposite. The future of the UK is very certain…its break-up, and the House of Commons is making that happen by its myopic political manouevring and refusal to agree on anything. However, would breaking up the UK be a bad thing? By the same rationale as the UK would be better off by leaving the EU leaving the EU, then surely England would be better off by leaving the UK. The only thorny issue would be North Sea oil, but the Angles could come to an amicable arrangement with the Scots. So, hold a referendum on leaving; what a juicy prospect. Some non-Plaid Cymruites might object, but Wales could join the EU and get lots of lovely subsidies. I daresay that no PM would ever, EVER consider holding a referendum again, but with the referendum genie out of the bottle, it may not want to go back. Freedom is contagious.
Brexit has caused chaos, it has created deep divisions in society…so? Out of chaos comes order and this is a chance to take a cold, hard look at Parliament and the whole democratic and electoral system in the country. I mean, for heaven’s sake, there isn’t even enough space in the chamber for all the MPs to sit down! Traditions are fine, but they only have a certain shelf-life. The House of Lords has been labelled an anachronism in our modern, democratic age; well, the House of Commons is increasingly looking like a contender for that category.
Minority News Report 