Politics today, Brexit and the major parties
Brexit dominates the political debate and has done so since
David Cameron announced he would hold a referendum in 2015. However, since the
referendum debate it has proceeded to split political parties, families and
communities. If you voted remain you are a remoaner with no confidence in ‘our
great nation’ and if you’re a Brexiter you’re xenophobic, unrealistic and
unprepared - or so each side would have you believe. But what happens if you’re
in the middle? How should the ordinary middle of the road (in essence if you
swing between parties or find yourself as a new labour/ lib dem or
compassionate conservative) British voter respond the current set of options?
Well firstly we need to make our mind up on Brexit. In the
Brexit campaign I was a staunch remainer, I engaged in public debates as to why
this was the case and tried to convince as many people as possible to my point
of view, but I lost. As a result I became a reluctant brexiter, because I
believe in the democratic process. I believed (and still do) that in our
representative democracy referenda are a dreadful idea precisely because we pay
MPs to make decisions on our behalf, however, they ceded that power by declaring
that they would uphold the result of the referendum and thus we must leave. In
addition, the key battles were fought around immigration, free movement, trade
and sovereignty thus any deal that leaves us under the legislative control of the
EU or unable to control our borders I believe is a betrayal of the outcome of
the vote.
Now the common remainer makes two claims, firstly they say
it is democratic to hold a second vote, and secondly they claim we now know
more and so should vote again. To the second I scoff, we may know more now but
the truth has always been that the debate is based on speculation, the truth is
we do not know what will happen either way and so to claim that all the
evidence says we should remain I think is an outright lie. This brings me to
the first point, the truth is knowing more will not lead to a changed vote,
partly because brexiters have realised that speculation swings both ways in
that we can speculate about a positive future for Britain but more importantly
the establishment has failed to recognise the cause of Brexit. The Labour heartlands generally voted for
Brexit, but why? Well I believe it’s because Brexit promises hope for the
communities that have been abandoned since Thatcher’s government and for those in
the squeezed middle; communities in which there is no work, where the education
system has failed the young and communities are crippled with issues of debt,
depression and utter hopelessness. And until the government addresses this,
these communities will continue to vote for things that offer them a glimmer of
light, which Brexit did because for many people things can’t get worse they can
only get better.
Furthermore, and most importantly I believe to seek a U-turn
on Brexit sets a dangerous precedent on democracy, what does it say about our
politics if the most significant people's vote of our time is rejected by the
elites that govern. I think it says that if you don’t get what you want then if
you only shout loud enough then you win. It gives credence to Rory Stewart’s claim
that people need to be given information to make the right choice (unfortunately
I could not find a reference for this, so please accept my poor paraphrase) –
the right choice, who decides what is the right choice? This isn’t power to the
people but a Philosopher King! Vote for me say the remainer MPs and we will be
wise and benevolent. It removes the civil nature of political discourse, it
destroys the power of the people and ends a time intelligent politics. This is
something worth fighting and thus I am forced to become a true brexiter. So who
do I vote for?
The
conservatives
Since Cameron’s rise to power the conservatives seem to be
conservative in name only. Whether you agree with the policy decisions or not
it remains true that the conservatives seem to have been a force for change;
from gay marriage to Brexit, they seem to reject the idea that they are there
to conserve. However, they remain the only party who at least from the top-level
seem committed to upholding the referendum and democratic principles.
The labour
party
Like with the conservatives they too seem to have rejected
their roots. Jeremy Corbyn has promised to back a remain vote possibly in order
to prevent the Liberal democrats taking his youth vote, however, this seems to
completely ignore the fact that many of the Northern town’s that typically vote
labour came out overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit, on the maps of the vote
share we can see that Wales, the Northeast, the Northwest and Yorkshire among
others voted to leave and all can be seen as classic areas for the labour party
to take votes.[1] While
Brexit voters are from diverse backgrounds it seems to be fair to say that the
classic working-class town seems to be in favour of Brexit, but can they back a
party which seems to blatantly be rejecting their referendum wishes? In addition,
some research suggests that Brexit was also a result of the ‘squeezed middle’, those
who enjoy some level of education and job security, but find their levels of
income and social status in rapid decline.[2]
Labour seems to have abandoned all these voters to become the party of the upper-middle-class
and the elites.
The liberal
democrats
Again the critique applies, the liberal democrats’ back
remain at all costs and thus throw down the toilet any claim to be liberal and
democratic. How can a party which so vehemently opposes Brexit claim to be one
who seeks to uphold democracy and liberal values? To me, this seems to be a
party desperate to reclaim the momentum lost by the coalition government and
in doing so seems to be one willing to sacrifice its values; for many this is
perhaps no surprise.
The
Scottish National Party
Unlike the other three major parties the SNP at least are
doing what they claim to want, perpetually fighting for Scottish independence.
However, they do this at the expense of rational discourse, refusing to
recognise all the issues associated with an independent Scotland, from their
budget shortfall to the fact that they would still have to reapply to join the
EU and accept the euro. This is not to mention the SNP’s general
untrustworthiness as a political party. I suppose at least it can be said that
they have not lost their roots, even if these were rotten to begin with.
So what do we do given the three main parties seem to be
sacrificing their traditional values? Who do I vote for? Well I am stuck in the
middle I cannot vote for the Lib-Dems or Labour due to their Brexit stances,
nor can I vote for the SNP for this reason and a true hatred of nationalistic
politics. Furthermore, the conservative’s attitude to social justice and my
entire political upbringing as a scouser with working-class family screams
against voting for the Tory’s. Likewise, the Brexit party and UKIP are further
right than the conservatives and so anything more than a protest vote is not
something I could bring myself to do. However, as I vent my feelings into this
the more the conservatives become the likely candidate and that is truly a
depressing thought.
Thus this blog ends on the depressing note. Who I will vote
I do not know. But what I do believe is that we should be pro-Brexit and the
reaction of left and soft left parties should worry those in the centre-ground.
[1] The
BBC, EU referendum: The result in maps and charts, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36616028
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