U-turn to Europe
Theresa May – please make a U-turn to Europe. I urge the Prime Minister to withdraw the Article 50 letter, untrigger Brexit, and get on with the true business of government – resolving health, education, housing, foreign policy. This would save enormous amounts of time and money both in the UK and throughout the European Union. Dealing with the world as it is, rather than the broken world inside the heads of Tory politicians, would be a service to the nation.
The British electorate delivered an intelligent, nuanced election result. Top of people’s concerns were health, education and jobs. Just three in 20 voters put relations with Europe above domestic political matters. Theresa May asked the public for a strong personal mandate to negotiate Brexit. We said, No, there are more important things to attend to. Think again. U-turn.
The British economy is slowing down, while the rest of Europe is beginning to recover. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a steady decline in tax revenues over the next five years. One of the main reasons is the reduction in taxes from lower immigration. Despite the confusion over the ‘dementia tax’ in the Tory manifesto, welfare will cost more than it does now. The NHS needs constant fresh investment to match the changing populations’s needs. Many more young people came out to vote lat week. Any government has to respond to their needs – primarily better funding for education. All these matters are much more important than Brexit.
The election result puts the brakes on Brexit. A U-turn is essential. As David Davis, Brexit secretary, said, ‘If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy’ (quoted in the Independent). Tory politicians have found the real business of government too hard. Brexit is simply political displacement activity, internal Tory politicking instead of taking responsibility for government. The Conservative party is utterly at fault in allowing Brexit to take the stage at all. Cameron thought politics could all be made up on the hoof; Osborne played one tune, austerity, a cracked record of continuous failure to deliver a healthy economy; foreign secretaries came and went, descending to Boris Johnson.
The attempt to cobble together a government with the DUP of Northern Ireland is risible. N.Ireland voted to remain in the EU. The DUP opposes this although it wants no border with the Republic of Ireland. The best way to achieve this is to halt Brexit. Make a U-turn to Europe.
See also ‘Three Ways Forward’, ‘Brexit – waste of time’