Britain has voted to leave the EU. But does it have the health to survive the challenges ahead?
Who is ready and willing to lead Britain to “bright, sunlit uplands”?
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Jeremy Warner, assistant editor of the Telegraph: “There is no word for our current state of affairs
other than chaos—constitutional chaos, chaos in the Tory Party, chaos in the Labour Party, chaos in
Europe and, though we have certainly seen worse, something close to chaos in financial markets.”
In less than a week, Britain has lost its prime minister; the Labour Party has lost its way; the pound
has lost significant value; and the public has lost faith, confidence and, for many, hope. “Frankly if
the four horsemen of the apocalypse went trotting past, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid or have time to write
about it,” tweeted the Spectator’s assistant editor Isabel Hardman.
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the Leave Campaign.
The campaign’s mantra “Lets leave the European Union and make Britain great again.”
which is now responsible for navigating the UK through the dangerous shoals of Brexit.
Before June 23, the Leave camp was united behind the task of persuading as many British
as possible to vote leave. Since the referendum, however, the Leave campaign has fractured
dramatically and is now dividing between hard-core Leavers, led by Nigel Farage, and moderate
Leavers, led by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
The only thing the two camps currently agree on is that Britain must leave the EU. When it comes
to what separation looks like—the degree of separation that must now occur and how the separation
needs to be negotiated—the two camps are miles apart. It is remarkable how quickly the Leave
campaign turned a [stunning victory into a civil war].
Brexit's two tribes will go to war
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the Labour Party.
The Labour Party is the second-largest political party in Britain; it represents 20 to 30
percent of the British public and is the primary ballast to the Conservative Party.
Since Friday, 20 members of Labour’s Shadow Cabinet have resigned (only 31 members total).
A further 29 non-cabinet Labour M.P.s have resigned. And on Tuesday, 172 Labour M.P.s
—more than 75 percent of the Labour M.P.S in Parliament—voted in favor of Labour Party
leader Jeremy Corbyn resigning.
Over the next few months, Britain will negotiate its way out of the EU, as well as maintain its
participation in ongoing (and fresh) discussions and developments on geopolitical and domestic
issues. Negotiations with the EU will be rancorous and tough, with Brussels seeking concessions
and, quite possibly, a measure of vengeance. UK leaders will have to be united, alert and focused.
Yet, as it stands today, Britain’s second-largest political party, and supposedly a key voice in
British leadership, is beset by chaos and dysfunction and will be irrelevant.
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the Conservative Party.
In May 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron was reappointed when the Conservative Party
shellacked its competitors in one of the most surprising general election victories ever.
Thirteen months later, Mr. Cameron is hunting for a job, and the Conservative Party—and the
country—is hunting for a new leader. The referendum took its toll on the Conservative Party,
which for months experienced acrimonious bickering between Leavers and Remainers.
There will now be a lot of negotiation and some closet deals, and Tory lawmakers will likely settle
on a new leader who will attempt to chart a course for Britain’s departure from the EU. But how
strong will the unity be and how long will it last? Half of the Conservative Party does not want
to leave the EU; the other half does. The Prophet Amos put it best: “Can two walk together except
they be agreed?” The Conservative Party will now fight over who should lead the party (and Britain).
There will also be conflicts over the hundreds, probably thousands, of details involved with departing the EU.
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Scotland.
The Scots voted overwhelmingly (62 percent) in favor of Britain staying in the EU. The decision to
Brexit infuriated many pro-EU and stirred many, including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon,
to search for ways to call another referendum on Scotland’s independence from Britain. On Tuesday,
Alyn Smith, the Scottish National Party (SNP) representative in the European Parliament, delivered
an impassioned plea in which he implored the [EU to come to Scotland’s defense]. The following day,
Sturgeon visited Brussels, where she met with EU officials and reiterated Scotland’s desire to remain
in the EU. Today, the majority of Scots would prefer to be joined to the EU than to England.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-4Sc52vmI8
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Ireland.
Brexit has reopened the Irish question—does Northern Ireland belong to Britain or the Republic of Ireland?
—which has festered, erupting now and again, for centuries. Fifty-six percent of Northern Ireland voters
wanted Britain to remain in the EU. Since Thursday, both Sinn Féin and the Social Democrat and Labour
Party (SDLP) have said that they will not allow English voters to drag them from the EU. Like the SNP
in Scotland, Sinn Féin and the SDLP in Northern Ireland are presently exploring options to remain in
the EU. (The same is happening in Gibraltar, where 95 percent voted to remain in the EU.)
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London.
Brexit has exposed the political and cultural chasm between London and the rest of the country.
Londoners,in general, are wealthier, better educated, and more liberal than the rest of Britain and,
in many ways, live in their own little world, detached from the rest of the nation. This is why the vote
for Brexit shocked most Londoners, the large majority of whom voted to remain in the EU. A friend
who works in London recalled the solemn atmosphere in the office last Friday, and how some colleagues,
grown men in their 40s, simply broke
down in tears.
Many Londoners are furious with the British public and view them as ignorant boobs and bigots. Meanwhile,
the outsider’s view of Londoners is that they’re toffs, that is, rich, arrogant and motivated more by self-interest
than national interest. This same spirit of animosity exists between other socio-demographic groups. Britain’s
millennials are [hopping mad with the baby boomers] for stealing their future.
Millennials' 'fury' over baby boomers’ vote for Brexit
There are reports of young people verbally abusing older people for destroying their future.
There have also been [incidents of racism], both verbal and physical, against foreigners.
Spate of racist attacks blamed on Brexit vote
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Britain’s institutions, the monarchy, the media, Oxford, Cambridge, and higher education, in general,
and the Church of England. Each of these has, so far, failed to provide clear-minded, rational leadership.
The monarchy, historically a force for hope and stability, has been virtually mute. The media is divided,
often sensationalist, and generally bereft of constructive criticism and solutions. The message from the Church
of England, which for the most part sided with the Remain camp, is vague, rambling and completely unsatisfying.
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“Britain Is Sailing Into a Storm With No One at the Wheel,” warned the Economist Sunday:
“Britain could be thrust into talks under a lame-duck leader with no clear notion of what Brexit should look
like or mandate to negotiate. All against a background of intensifying economic turmoil and increasingly ugly
divides on Britain’s streets. The country is sailing into a storm. And no one is at the wheel.”
Rudderless: Britain is sailing into a storm with no one at the wheel | The Economist
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“There are no adequate words to describe the rolling political, economic and constitutional crises that
have developed in the days since Britain voted, by a narrow majority, to leave the European Union,”
wrote Henry Porter in Vanity Fair. “The country has been swept by a kind of political Ebola .…”
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Questioning Britain’s future and whether the UK has the health to survive the coming months and years.
https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/14024.18.0.0/brexit-exposes-uks-many-infirmities
