Britain has well and truly turned a corner as of last week. But what awaits us at the end of the road, will now depend on us
Needless to say this past week has been one of the most tumultuous of recent times. Across the world stock markets have plummeted, the pound dipped to a 30-year low (then dipped some more). The world may be heading into a second recession and hate crime has escalated massively since the historic Brexit vote.
So, fellow Remainers, it may be easy to be discouraged. It’s true that that there are some horrible consequences of the Brexit but let’s try to look on the bright side.
Johnson and Farage show their true colours
First and foremost, former Mayor of London Boris Johnson and UKIP leader Nigel Farage have shown their true colours. Both were vocal in support of Brexit but have made embarrassing turnarounds in the days since the vote. In an awkward about-face, Johnson announced that there was no rush to invoke Article 50, thereby triggering the UK’s departure from the EU. It seems Mr Johnson is suffering thanks to his own monkey’s paw. Be careful what you wish for…
We’ve all known Nigel Farage, part-time UKIP leader and full-time Kermit the Frog impersonator, is unsavoury to say the least. In 2014 he blamed ‘open door immigration’ for him being late to a speaking engagement, to name but one backwards accusation. The world was shocked when Farage backtracked on the Leave campaign promise for NHS funding. Well not shocked exactly, the opposite of shocked. Farage was asked whether he could promise, as the Leave campaign had done, that the NHS would receive an extra £350 million a day after the vote to leave. Check out his brazen response here.
A ‘mistake’ was one of the cornerstones of the Leave campaign. Even Brexiters can’t doubt the character of Farage now.
The UK now understands the impact of true democracy
The EU Referendum used a system of proportional representation. Many Leavers were ‘shocked’ at the result, expecting that their vote would be just as meaningless as when ‘First Past the Post’ is used in general elections. They were wrong. If the people play it right this could be the revitalisation British democracy so dearly needs. The public now understands the power of democracy and, given a better system, they will be able to wield it to tremendous effect.
The younger demographic have complained that our parents and grandparents decided our future for us. The problem is that our turnout for the Brexit vote was tragically low. May this be a wake-up call. Our votes matter and it’s time to get off our sofas and decide the fate of our country.
A crossroads
What happens following Brexit is up to us. We stand at a crossroads while Labour and the Conservatives tear themselves apart. Will this finally be a chance for Jeremy Corbyn to cement his leadership of the Labour Party and lead a true leftist revolution? Or will his dissenters manage to drag him down against the will of the party? Likewise, the Right is at each other’s throats over the referendum. In a cruel masterstroke worthy of Tywin Lannister of Game of Thrones, Cameron signed the death warrant of his successor.
Anyone invoking Article 50 would be committing career suicide. Likewise, anyone ignoring the vote would be doing the same. The new Conservative leader will be the second unelected prime minister in our lifetimes. This could very well lead to a second general election. This is also the opportunity to fight the surge of the far-right and reinforce Jeremy Corbyn as the future of this country.
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