United Kingdom: Where Parliament and the Politicians have lost touch

United Kingdom: Where Parliament and the Politicians have lost touch

The United Kingdom resembles a giant slug writhing around in agony as it crosses a line of sea salt sprinkled to protect a gardener's prize cabbages.

The public image of the United Kingdom used to be epitomized and exported by the Gentleman back in the times of James Bond films, the sophisticated, polyglot, classy know-it-all who was as adept with a screwdriver and a hammer as he was in speaking Swiss-German or imitating an Azerbaijani speaking Turkish with perfection. And nudge-nudge, wink-wink, bedding a beautiful buxom blonde.

Fast forward to 2013, and what do we find? What was formerly hidden to the eyes of foreigners, but today visible in the soccer hooligan, the Low Cost Costa del Sol tourist and the Brexiteer, which claim to represent in their own ways the British people. In fact, none of them do - most British people are capable of watching a soccer match in a civilized fashion, many enjoy sipping sangria in Spain but also go on cultural excursions to the nearest cities and the Brexiteer was a flash in the pan two years ago, today a species threatened with extinction. The trouble is, the British Parliament does not know this yet.

What is staggering is both the way that Theresa May has handled the Brexit dossier (admittedly better than the way the Westminster Pedophile or the Windrush dossiers were handled) and the fact that few in Parliament appear to understand where the hearts and minds of the people lie.

Theresa May says she is listening to the people yet arrogantly rules out a second Referendum when it is crystal clear that if a second referendum were to be held today, the Remain vote would win by over 60 per cent to 40 per cent at the very least. The reason why is perfectly simple to understand: in 2016 many of those who voted Leave have since passed on (the Leave vote was a vote championed by the elderly, along with the uninformed middle aged group and a handful of youths whose opinions were clouded by the lies of the Leave campaign), while a large number of those who were too young to vote two and a half years ago are now eligible (the Remain vote is championed by the Youth, the future, and the more educated/instructed members of the population).

Yet Theresa May and many Members of Parliament claim that a second referendum would not be correct or democratic because the people have already spoken. This argument does not take into account the lack of information available at the time of the first referendum and the sheer lies upon which the decision of many Brexiteers was based. Therefore the position of the British Prime Minister and those who refuse to follow the path of democracy (a proper Referendum this time) shows how out of touch they are.

For those who fear that failure to deliver Brexit will be an insult to those who voted Leave, the reality today is that there are more wishing to Remain, and these, on social media, are quite adamant that any Party of Institution delivering Brexit will be boycotted in future. Deliver Brexit, you lose half your vote. The seething anger felt by over sixty per cent of the British electorate falls on deaf ears in the crystal ball of Whitehall where the carpeted corridors echo to the sound of smugness.

History has taught us that every time a Government or a governing class becomes deaf to the opinions of the people, something serious lunges behind the scenes and things are never the same again. Mark my words: whatever happens, we will be hearing about Brexit for decades to come.

The bottom line is that nobody wants a No Deal Brexit, and it is utterly incredible that the British Prime Minister places this as an option, or any sort of option and the bottom line is that the majority of the British people do not want Brexit in any way, shape or form. They are more informed, the youth have a voice and do not wish to see their futures taken away from them.

If the Prime Minister cannot understand simple arithmetic, let us spell it out. If you leave a trading bloc with which you conduct half your trade for free, and have to pay for access, then your goods are going to be more expensive to import and harder to export, whether or not you impose any tariffs at all (today the Government said only 13% of goods might have tariffs imposed in the event of a No Deal Brexit but for how long?), however we are speaking of paying for access to trade, not tariffs. This in turn is translated into fewer exports which means businesses stretched to breaking point, which means unemployment. This means that the Government has higher social costs and less money available for public services. It also means that imported goods are more expensive, so prices rise and the economy sees itself suddenly fighting a triple whammy: unemployment, inflation and do not forget the inevitable falling pound, compounding vectors complicated by inflation.

Estimates state that the British economy is already one trillion pounds worse off because of Brexit and the procession has not yet left the churchyard. It is obvious that other countries are going to do deals with the EU first and with the UK last. These are the reasons why the British people, today, collectively, have changed their minds, if indeed the figure from the First Referendum was accurate (many suspect massive vote fraud).

The political epitaph of Theresa May and her Government will be written by the consequences of their arrogance, short-sightedness and failure to understand their people. They are basing their position on wrong precepts, they are out of date and out of touch.

The massive march planned for March 23rd will show Theresa May how determined the British people are, and will be a message not to allow her to destroy the futures of their children and grandchildren. Will she listen and allow them to have a second Referendum to express their will democratically?

As I have been saying in this column all along, the people made a mistake in June 2016, they were easily led by lies and by media campaigns which for decades have ridiculed the European Union, tapping in on endemic island-nation mentality which has existed for centuries. You only have to read Ambassadors' accounts from the reigns of Queen Mary I (1553-1558) and Queen Eliabeth I (1558 - 1603).

Theresa May, it would appear, is four centuries out of sync. The people in the UK are streets ahead of their politicians. The people understand how catastrophic any form of Brexit will be. Watch this space for a massive change in UK politics, with far more accountability hanging over elected representatives and far more direct participation from the people. Then watch the Internet and social media being gradually doctored and controled to crowd the people out.

It is obvious that the entire political class in the UK is out of date, out of touch and out of ideas.

Photo: By Kenneth Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51267917

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru 

Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey

[email protected]

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey works in the area of teaching, consultancy, coaching, translation, revision of texts, copy-writing and journalism. Director and Chief Editor of the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru since 2002, and now Co-Editor of the English version, he contributes regularly to several other publications in Portuguese and English. He has worked in the printed and online media, in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly magazines and newspapers. A firm believer in multilateralism as a political approach and multiculturalism as a means to bring people and peoples together, he is Official Media Partner of UN Women, fighting for gender equality and Media Partner with Humane Society International, promoting animal rights. His hobbies include sports, in which he takes a keen interest, traveling, networking to protect the rights of LGBTQI communities and victims of gender violence, and cataloging disappearing languages, cultures and traditions around the world. A keen cook, he enjoys trying out different cuisines and regards cooking and sharing as a means to understand cultures and bring people together.