The collective national sigh of relief as Labour wrenched the reins of power from the corrosive grasp of the Conservatives following the July 2024 election was apocryphal. Amongst other repulsive traits, sleaze, gaslighting, and being serenaded by lies, damn lies and scandalous statistics would surely be destined for the tip, along with the political careers of 175 Tory MPs.
Although removing the winter fuel allowance for pensioners not receiving benefits is rational, given the notion that only those in need should have this top-up payment and the likes of Sir Alan Sugar et al wouldn’t feel the chill, the optics of picking on the oldies as the first volley designed to reduce the hidden £20bn overspend of the outgoing clown show was beyond awful. That aside, sensible grown-up governance returned to parliament, with the new incumbents making an impressive job of managing the creaking criminal justice system as it flexed to deal with the #FarageRiots. As for the supposed Starmer sleaze that pulsed throughout the rancid right-wing media, it should be noted that his gifts – whether or not you are opposed to the notion of public figures receiving any gratuities – were publicly disclosed. In summary, not a bad start – until, that is, Wes Streeting spouted gibberish when asked about the elephant in the room: Brexit.
To sum up: Brexit has broken Britain. There are numerous testimonies to this fact, but perhaps the most poignant are the observations of former MI6 chief, Sir Alex Younger, who solemnly concludes that Brexit has made Britain irrelevant on the international stage, with Putin and Xi Jinping rubbing their hands with glee. If, however, you are suffering from cognitive dissonance on this matter of destruction of national wealth, wellbeing, and security, best you leave the conversation now.
During a recent interview on Sky News, Streeting declared that Britons have moved on from Brexit, but confirmed that the negative impact on economic growth was “a fact of life we have to deal with”.
The initial falsehood is easily dismissed, given the most recent domestic polling that concludes that a super majority would be in favour of rejoining the EU. The second statement, although very akin to “you’ve made your bed, now lie in it,” is truthful (LBC’s James O’Brien pushes this metaphor to a new soiled level). But why has the notion of changing the sheets become so challenging?
Contrary to the mainstream view – and I hate to break this to you if you haven’t had the opportunity to study the UK constitution and EU law, at least from undergraduate level – is that we do not live in a democracy. To many this may be nuanced, however our parliamentary democracy is far narrower in that the people vote in a select number of parliamentarians to represent their best interests. The party with the majority of parliamentarians forms the government which has the central tenet of safeguarding the country.
Collectively, parliament ultimately make the big calls, thereby excluding the outsourcing of critical decision making to the general public, most of whom wouldn’t have the foggiest idea on, for example, free movement of people (that wasn’t in fact “free” at all since it was conditional, with strict rules appertaining to the ability to be fiscally able to reside in another member state and have health insurance). If these conditions were not met, offending immigrants could easily be returned by dint of the Dublin Regulation, which the UK has lost due to the infamous “oven ready deal” cooked up by Boris Johnson. As for sovereignty, the UK’s constitution has protected this ever since the signing of the Magna Carta with the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy. However, during the national opinion poll (apologies, the 2016 referendum) slightly more of the electorate were impressed by the “simple answers to complex questions” peddled by the populist propagandists who love lying too. A myth doesn’t have to be true; it just needs to be believable and – in this case – the creator of the classic divide and conquer.
As a former member of the criminal justice system, I would counter that Brexit was a miscarriage of natural justice and not a celebration of democracy. Indeed, the electoral commission went even further in this assertion: “The Court of Appeal has today (12 November 2019) found against Vote Leave and confirmed that we have the power to publish our investigation findings. Specifically, the court agreed that we could publish details of our investigation into electoral law offences committed by Vote Leave during the 2016 EU referendum.”
The position of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is in stark contrast to this view, which is surprising, given that, as King’s Counsel, he was also a former Director of Public Prosecutions. Recently he ruled out the UK rejoining the EU single market in his lifetime.
This leads me to the uncomfortable hypothesis that the current incarnation of the Parliamentary Labour party – on the subject of Brexit – is Tory-light and this worries me. Or, like Baldrick, does Starmer have a cunning plan?
Title image by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
© Ian Kirke 2024
@ianjkirke