While Donwald Pressly doesn’t glot (as others may) in his latest contribution, it must be said, and I quote: “I see Cameron being ousted by Boris Johnson in a superb play of power capture”. And since this insight the world has seen the unlikelihood of Brexit, as well as David Cameron handing in his resignation. But Pressly looks at what the Brexit vote means to the United Kingdom, and the world. And while the reasons for he event will be deliberated all through the weekend in pubs across the world, what cannot be negotiated is it’s a win for Democracy. Not the end of ‘Big Government’ but surely a warning shot. – Stuart Lowman
By Donwald Pressly*
During a bout of bad weather in the English channel, one British commentator reported that “Europe has been cut off”. Some may view the Brexit vote as an expression of Britain shutting out Europe. As I can count myself in as one of those who predicted the Brexit outcome, I do not believe that the referendum result can be reduced to an expression of anti-immigrant – in particular, anti-Syrian – xenophobia. The vote on Europe was far more about a foreign administration in Brussels having too much power over the commercial and trading affairs of the United Kingdom.
The immigration issues are secondary. They will in any case, in future, be the policy preserve of the British House of Commons. Surely that is a nation state’s right? It won’t necessarily lead to Britain shutting its borders, including to Syrian refugees. Britain has been pretty prickly anyway about allowing in foreigners who did not necessarily fulfill its entry requirements. It is significant that not only Tory constituencies voted for Brexit, there were plenty of Labour Party core constituencies that voted for Brexit – and they did so quite strongly in some cases.
As Cape Messenger predicted, if Brexit won, Prime Minister David Cameron would be toast. He has announced his resignation but will remain in office until October for the sake of stability. He is toast because he virulently supported the BREMAIN campaign, arguing that BREXIT would be hugely damaging to the economy, to the currency and to jobs. This was a view also articulated by his Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. It is quite clear that the Chancellor will also need to go as he even predicted the contraction of the GDP if BREXIT won.
He can’t now be the chief negotiator of the transition to a new order with Europe. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a member of the European Parliament, is quoted in the Telegraph as describing the current EU as “dead, killed by privileges for the cast of Eurocrats by permanent lies, by the politics of inflexibility… everyone has had enough.”
Clearly the majority of British voters – some 17.4 million of 33 million voters – are sick to death of unaccountable politicians at the European parliament reporting to a Soviet-like centralist administration in Brussels who were taking decisions affecting the British economy which they see as being of little benefit – if not injurious – to Britain.
Democracy has won
The view held by some that this is a sad day for Britain and for Europe. One commentator on Facebook said Britain was where South Africa was in 1948 – when the apartheid National Party came to power. “The wrong have won,” was the comment. “Closed-mindedness has won.” This is nonsense. The British vote shows that ordinary people can send a message to the establishment: So much and no more.
Read also: Alec Hogg on #Brexit: Why it’s a good long term bet
It is not about unscrambling an egg, as this FB commentator also suggests. Scotland can become an independent state within the European Union – this is what an overwhelming number of voters there want – and Northern Ireland, which also voted for BREMAIN could join up with Ireland. While the currency may weaken for a while and British stocks and bonds may lose ground for a spell, they will, no doubt, bound back when a clearer picture of the opportunities for EU disengagement cumulatively emerges. In the meantime a weakened pound could do wonders for British exports and, could in fact, boost job creation in the longer term. Britain will also save lots of money it pays to the EU – about 350 million pounds a week was the one (albeit disputed) figure mentioned.
The EU’s laws that govern the industrial, agricultural and commercial life of the 28 EU countries (which will drop to 27 when the UK leaves) will fall away. The terms of the Brexit will in any case take about two years to negotiate. There will also be a need for new trade treaties, but any government worth its salt surely would aim for free trade deals. It could well prove be a new beginning for Britain.
The vote is a triumph for democratic expression. Even though the bulk of MPs in the House of Commons backed BREMAIN – with Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders all backing STAY – the majority of voters from all these parties showed them the door.
- Donwald Pressly, Editor Cape Messenger
