Bambootelephone
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Lessons from Churchill about Brexit

The Brexit crisis is likely to be the worst potential disaster facing the UK since the second world war. Once again, it seems our elected leaders are failing to foresee the catastrophic consequences of their lazy, ill-informed and supine self interest.

Ardent Brexiters who regret the loss of the once powerful British Empire could perhaps draw a few comparisons with the battle Winston Churchill had prior to WWII. His was one of few voices warning of the dangers of German rearmament and British indifference. He maintained a robust barrage against what he considered the consistent failure of successive Prime Ministers to address Britain’s interests.

The current Brexit debacle could end up with Britain paying the EU to remain in the single market and customs union, while having no voice at the negotiating table, thus having a much worse deal than it currently enjoys. Churchill described a similar dichotomy just before the Munich agreement in September 1938.

In a private letter to Lloyd George he wrote that the government was faced with a choice between “war and shame” and that, having chosen shame, it would later get war on less favourable terms.

The parallel is striking. If the UK government continues to insist on hard Brexit it may, if it’s lucky, get a soft Brexit on less favourable terms.

The big difference in 2017 is that there is no sitting Conservative or Labour MP, with the exception of Conservative Ken Clarke, prepared to clearly insist that Brexit should be scrapped and article 50 withdrawn immediately. Dancing around half baked ideas of various types of Brexit is a massive waste of time.

The UK government has no plan and is prepared to bet all on the results of a wholly inept referendum, which was only ever intended to be advisory. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition is providing anything but opposition, apparently accepting the weakest arguments instead of defending the interests of the British people.

Anyone who cares must insist that their MP acts in the interests of their constituency. Opposition parties should be opposing and not following the lemmings over the cliff. There is no shame in changing one’s opinion in the light of new facts. This seems to be unwelcome news to the unworthy leaders of a once rational and dynamic country, aka the UK. It’s not yet too late.

    Bambootelephone

    Written by

    Irascible, rabid anti-Brexit cat-loving grandma. Multi lingual citizen of the world.