Most frequently heard buzz phrase this year: “The government elite have lost touch with The People.” Okay, so we have to be more democratic. Let’s hold a referendum!
Sure.
In case anyone didn’t notice, a referendum is not democratic. A referendum is a sop to “The People” who want to put their displeasure about their lives in general into one simple vote that will make them feel better. As the British have found out, in these economic times it’s not difficult to find a moment when over 50% of the population is unhappy with their lives. All you have to do is set up a single paper tiger they can all throw sticks at, and presto! You’ve got a win.
But it’s all a scam. It’s not listening to the people. It’s pretending to listen, and gambling the future of your country on the fact that you’re going to win.
Canada played the same game in 2010 and almost lost Quebec by an even closer margin (1%). Same pattern: a disaffected minority with a charismatic leader fighting the Establishment, who came across as boring, arrogant and out of touch.
The Brexit Scam
There is a key component to every scam; put the mark under time pressure. People in a hurry aren’t thinking. They can be persuaded that things that seem to be true really are true. And then you can get away with all sorts of things, and nobody questions.
Why is David Cameron Still There?
He got everyone into this, but at the start he was as much a victim as any other problem gambler. You see, he got himself re-elected through the clever promise of holding a referendum. And the nice thing about a referendum is that the very idea of it brings together people who would normally have nothing in common. Mainly, it was the one thing that the whole Conservative Party could agree on, divided as they were on what the outcome should be. So the pro-Brexit Conservatives and the anti-Brexit Conservatives, and a whole bunch of unrelated people with all sorts of weird and sometimes nasty agendas voted Cameron and his party into power. Very clever, Mr. Cameron. And nobody, least of all yourself, realized how much you were gambling with the future of your country.
However, the best salesman for a scam is the mark who has bought in. Now that Cameron has lost, the only way he and the Conservatives can maintain the pretense that they care what the voters think is to stay the course. They can’t ignore the results without looking very out of touch with The People. And that would never do.
And so the Scam Continues
Someone in Brussels the other day asked Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, what he was doing there. A better person to ask would be David Cameron. He said he was going to resign. He said someone else should oversee the departure. So what was he doing in Brussels? He was keeping the pressure on. He was maintaining the fiction that Brexit is a done deal, so people will be too busy saying “What will I do now?” instead of asking the important questions.
Such as:
- What is the plan for the exit? Of course, the first thing we discovered after the referendum was that the exit side doesn’t have any plans.
- What about Scotland? Oops. Nobody thought about that: whether they have a constitutional right to block the exit, or whether they will immediately stage an exit of their own.
- What about Northern Ireland? Not so likely to jump. The British supporters in the North have a less peaceful history with the real Irish. But you never know.
- Is the result binding? What does the bill setting up the referendum say? Constitutional law says no. Parliament has to vote first.
- The big one. Why isn’t Parliament dealing with this? Last I heard, Britain was a parliamentary democracy. In case of emergency, Parliament debates the situation. But Cameron (who is resigning, remember?) is acting like he’s going to do it all himself.
- What’s Wrong with the Labour Party? The next election has been handed to them on a platter, based on the “told you so” principal. Instead, they’ve got their hatchets out for their leader.
Best Case Scenario
You don’t need to be a constitutional lawyer to figure out what should happen now. Parliament should call a vote of non-confidence on the Conservatives’ handling of Brexit. Since even a lot of Conservative members would support the move, the government would fall.
And then the topic would be fought out in a proper electoral campaign like it should be in a democracy. Those in favour of the exit would have to lay out their plans. Whatever group won the election would win on The People’s confidence in their ability to handle the crisis in a way that was best for Britain.
Why is this not happening? The inescapable conclusion is that neither of the major parties cares whether Britain is in the European Community or not. Each one just wants to make sure it is leading Britain. Perhaps the government elite has lost touch.
A Historical Reminder
Some nasty parallels with a previous event. Last time Britain was at this sort of turning point it was caused by Neville Chamberlain playing appeasement with Hitler. Finally a guy called Churchill came along and said, “Enough of this silliness. Get your head out of the sand.”
The sudden rise in xenophobic and racist activity in Britain this week gives a taste of where the support for Brexit originates, and David Cameron is too busy trying to keep the Conservatives in power to notice, the Labour party is playing their version of the same game, and Britain is completely leaderless.
Who is going to be Britain’s Churchill this time? Who is going to take that one step back and realize what is going on?
Not me. I’ll be too busy working for the Scottish Independence Party.