Lions led by donkeys…

25/6/2016

Make no mistake, this is a very dark day for our country. We have fallen victim to an internecine war in the Conservative party, while Her Majesty’s so-called ‘loyal opposition’ seem to have dreamed their way to a disastrous referendum outcome that will affect everyone in the United Kingdom.

Cameron, now unmasked as a hopelessly weak leader, decided to bet the country’s future on his victory in the last election by promising a referendum on our continued membership of the European Union. It was clear that his party was split, and he chose that huge gamble to stop the defection of his MPs to Ukip. Boris Johnson, the court jester, saw his opportunity as a 'white knight' leadership contender, and used his undoubted charisma and popularity to opt for a leave vote. Jeremy Corbyn did nothing. Johnson and his allies played the xenophobia card, whipping up the existing disquiet in the country regarding immigration and all the negative qualities of the Brussels’ bureaucracy, and the British People followed them into the ‘Leave’ lobby.

I predict the following: already the Pound Sterling has fallen in value to a level not seen for thirty years. As soon as ‘the people’ see the substantially increased costs of their overseas travel and their electronic goods imported from the far east, the reduction in the value of their properties, the increase in the cost of food and the negative effects of the stock market on their pensions they will turn on Boris and his friends. There will be a blood-letting.

We are within days of the one hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, where tens of thousands of British soldiers were slaughtered on the first day. ‘Lions led by donkeys’ they were called later, their leaders having condemned them to an appalling death.

The British People have been betrayed by their political leaders. With the honourable exception of those in Scotland, there is not one of them that should not hang their heads in shame this morning.

2 Comments

Chris Neale

24/6/2016 08:00:17 am

Bravo, you have said it. Collectively we have squandered the sacrifices that our parents and grandparents made to achieve a peaceful and tolerant Europe. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. I fear for the future and there is nothing I can do about it anymore.

Paul Robertson

25/6/2016 11:28:48 pm

Well yes, that says it. As a Brit who has lived in the Paris area for some 22 years now, I feel a crippling embarrassment at what has happened. My country has made a laughing stock of itself in a most public manner. But let us have no illusions. The European leaders are scrambling to restructure their working relationships for the immediate problems ahead, wearing a troubled mask the while, but the reality is that they are absolutely delighted. They have been driving with the brakes on since the Thatcher era, and finally their collective thumb is hovering over the little button on the end of the lever. They cannot wait. I find the unseemly haste deeply perturbing. It feels somehow pointedly personal.

A major sector of British society would now appear to be engaged in a last-ditch effort to pick up the pieces and, as it were, put Humpty together again. As a I write, a petition to press for another referendum stands at 2,589,603 signatures. There is little doubt that (if the petition were to be left open that long) the number of signatures would exceed the number of ‘out’ voters in less than eight days. I took a sample period and found that it was running at over 80,000 signatures per hour. This must say something. Among them must be closet ‘out’ voters looking furtively over their shoulder and bleating ‘only joking.’

There is on the other hand, no incentive in Europe to respect a second referendum. Well not as things stand. Remember ‘Mastermind’? “I’m sorry, but I can only accept your first answer.” It would be easier for Britain to propose an imaginative alternative to impending catastrophe if it had done anything within living memory to ingratiate itself with the rest of Europe. But if you ask what impression we have made amongst our European peers these four decades past, it is largely one of blind whingeing opposition to everything. We have insisted on being the constant exception; in the Euro, the British economy would have made the difference between precariousness and strength in these times of economic trouble. But no. The British like to feel that they are somehow in control. You will never control anything by distancing yourself from it, and we are now about to get more distance than we can comfortably cope with.

So as the smoke blows away from this warning shot that went and hit the bows, what pieces do I think could be picked up? Not all in the European garden is rosy, let’s be honest, but the original six see their way out of their particular troubles by ditching Britain just as quickly as it is physically possible to do, and you have to admit that logic is on their side. The dog would like to get back to wagging the tail. What might persuade them that Britain is worth a final public warning instead of disqualification? I think that the secret is in the mood for change that has been engendered in countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and (even) France. It plays on the huge disparity between the public and its moderate leaders, with the notable exception of Germany. Knuckle-heads after all, voted us out of Europe, and the same knee-jerk voter exists all over Europe. In France for example, he is swayed by the neo-fascist spoutings of the Front National who want to break up Europe entirely. Enough already.

In my idealistic Plan B, all the European leaders, including the current British leadership would call ‘time out.’ Britain would like a new referendum. Okay - let’s hit pause and agree to a massive one to cover the whole of Europe. Let us propose a restructured Europe that will at least try to answer the predominant criticisms from all the disparate entities that comprise this fascinating assembly of nations, but that keeps Britain in. Even formulating the framework for this would take years, but whilst it is taking them, all bets are off. Such a massive bureaucratic undertaking is right up the European strasse/strada/rue… enfin street. They would relish it, and whilst they relish, we get a chance to reflect soberly on the brink that the British lemming so nearly flung itself over. Britain would have to know – this is the last chance. We crap or we get off the pot. We play the game according to the club rules, but importantly, we are there, in at the beginning of the writing of the new rulebook, and we can save face by pointing out that we weren’t there the first time. We would have to put up or shut up.

Well it is a dream. The reality will be ugly and unceremonious and we are staring at the abyss. I am very saddened by the whole dismal affaire. We have after all, done little to merit a second chance, and there are a lot of grudges out there on the unpaid spike. The grudgemeister has waited a long time for this, and he is about to grind exceeding small.

Quant à moi, j’ouvre une dernière Kronenbourg. Tout change.

Lions led by donkeys…

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