By and large, I’ve tried to avoid taking any public part in
this debate until now. Like many sitting just either side of the EU question, I
simply didn't know the correct answer. Of course no-one knows the
correct answer, and that really should have been the headline for the whole
shambolic process, but this referendum really came down to an argument between
two types of people; those who were certain, and those who weren't.
Unfortunately those who were certain, won.
See I started, as did many eventually-remain voters (it will
ultimately be no secret that I voted remain, but it is of no consequence
either), sitting on the fence. From the very first suggestion of the
referendum, of course, I knew that I would likely want to remain – those who
share my political views, and many whom I respect were expressing their desire
to stay in the EU after all – but I was utterly undecided and prepared to be
convinced.
Throughout the whole referendum I failed to be convinced by
the Remain camp as I'd hoped. I wasn't convinced by the argument that we are a
country somehow so immoral that we'd be unable to draft our own Human Rights
bill, or that we would freefall into bigoted anarchy without a firm European
hand on the rudder. I certainly wasn't convinced by the treasury's spurious
claims that 'each household' would be worse off to the oddly specific tune of
£4300 by 2030. That's not to say I didn't still lean towards remaining, but
mostly down more to my own somewhat abstract reasons. The general sense of
unity and community of belonging both physically and politically to Europe, for
example, or the personal conviction that in a world which is moving towards
ever bigger and more powerful unions and states, it would be thoroughly
regressive to cut ties with one of the more influential of those unions.
What did ultimately convince me were the arguments of the
Leave camp. It seemed that no matter where I looked, and how well informed the
arguments, they ultimately came down to two things: arrogance and immigration.
Arrogance in the sense that we somehow think we deserve to take more than we
give, arrogance in the belief that our politicians are all shining
paradigms of sense and morality in the way that those ‘unelected bureaucrats!’
aren’t and arrogance in that the UK somehow deserves to be restored to its
former status of world colonisers and not just a part of this cooperative union
that we have worked so hard to forge.
Of course I’m not stupid enough to think that these
arguments are what precipitated the eventual win for the Brexiters, not any
more than the case for Remain convinced me to vote their way. A large portion
of the vote to leave was seemingly made as a reaction to a political system in
which so many people feel ignored and maligned. A protest vote against the
government, and one which ironically (as so many smug-faced remain voters like
to point out) will punish those most maligned even further.
But here’s the rub, and here’s my point: they were right to protest.
From the very beginning, this whole fated referendum has
been a failure of democracy. We had elected a government to make these decisions
for us, so what in the sweet name of fuck were we doing making this decision
for them? I don’t remember getting a referendum for the NHS, or for the ‘renegotiation’
of my pension (which was changed after I signed, but you can see my previous
posts for more on that one), so why for this? Why, when it came to a decision
that people with a lifetime of experience and qualifications were struggling
with, did our Prime Minister decide that it would be left to a bunch of
ignorant plebs to sort out (and I very much include myself in that number)?!
I completely understand why we voted to leave on Thursday
and I do not for a second hate or judge anyone for making that decision. They
did not fail us.
Equally, I understand the frustrations of those who did their
research, shouted at as many others as possible to do their own and waved their
flag for the obvious ‘sensible’ option. I understand why they want another
referendum, for Sturgeon to block our exit, for us to delay on Article 50. They
did not fail us.
But what I don’t understand is why so many people that we
have voted into power so willingly screwed us over in the hubris of their own
power plays. David Cameron, a man who had avoided the Europe question all his
political career, pledged this election as a cheap way to win votes. Boris
Johnson, a man so clearly in pursuit of a new job that he might as well have just
stuck his CV on the side of the battle bus instead of that now infamous claim of free money for the NHS, is now meekly trying to back pedal
and minimise the fallout from a result that he – amongst millions and millions
of others, never actually expected. Corbyn, though admirably refusing to betray
his own personal Eurosceptic leanings, unadmirably refusing to be the leader he
was elected to be and at least give his party a voice. Gove, Eagle, Blair….and
the many others who took advantage of this as an opportunistic excuse to raise
their profiles and improve their career prospects, they are the ones who failed
us.
Now, as we pick once again through the fallout of these
political games, we need to look square and true at those who put us in this
position. Let’s ask Johnson, what now? Let’s demand that he delivers on those
promises to which so many signed up, or tries to restore to us the status quo
with which so many were happy. Let’s ensure that Cameron, in his dying few
months as PM, tries to recover some of the damage that he’s inflicted and
strive for reparations in his own cabinet. Let’s ensure that Farage…actually,
no. Fuck Farage.
Don’t complain that we were let down by racists. Don’t
complain that requesting another referendum is petty and desperate.
Do demand that we are served by those who brought us here.
Do, to use a phrase of which I had become sick until now, Take Back Control.
