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Amir Shehu
Reliable journalism with an element of urban humour

Country Votes To Leave The EU, We Have No Prime Minister And Parliament Is In Crisis: Damage Control

Leave edges EU referendum result

So we have voted to leave the EU, David Cameron has resigned, and our two major political parties are going through leadership crises. As much as I am disappointed with the result, the people have spoken — we must respect the result and accept the consequences. In this piece I firstly set out why a Brexit must not be rejected. Then, I share some of my views on the current political climate.

Brexit Must Occur

It is of paramount importance that the government give effect to the will of the people. As soon as a Prime Minister is decided, he/she must invoke Article 50 and begin the country’s exit from the bloc. Anything otherwise is unacceptable, for the following reasons.

Firstly, as outlined above, it is democratically unacceptable to override the decision of the people. A clear majority of the people voted to leave the EU. So instead of wasting time complaining, we should instead help to shape the country we would like to create. This is not a time for panic — let’s just get on with it.

Secondly, we would never hear the end of it from populists. They have long been championing conspiracy theories of how the government have already given away the country to the United States of Europe; democracy has been robbed from the people; and we are edging closer towards a One World Order. Indeed, most of the people that made a “protest” vote against the EU believed this nonsense. To reject the result of the referendum now would be, to the 17 million people that voted leave, confirmation that they were right to vote leave. Moreover, this would work to sway otherwise ordinary, decent members of the public to the populist cause, increasing their numbers. and consequently increasing the tensions in the UK. In the end, it really is just not worth it.

Thirdly, it is not all bad. Yes, we will suffer for a while. But we were eventually going to leave anyway, and at the very least, once this is all said and done, decision making will be back with our elected representatives and bigots will have no defence for their xenophobic views. Currently, the bureaucratic EU and lack of control over our borders were the straws that bigots clutched at to justify the views they held. Once we have divorced from the EU, they will no longer be able to rely on these justifications and their xenophobia will be exposed.

The most important thing that we, as a country, must do is heal. Everywhere I look, there is hate, anger and fear. There is hate against Muslims. There is hate against black people. There is hate against Jews. There is hate against gays. There is hate against nationalists. Most recently, there is hate and anger between the 52% of the population that voted leave and the 48% that voted remain.

If there is anything at all that I could do, it would be to get rid of all the hate in peoples hearts. Whilst this may be an impossible task, leaving the EU would make a significant contribution, because once we have left, and people realise that our public services are still under pressure, the cost of living is still high, our wages are still depressed, and it was not immigration that held back our country, they will realise that all the blame, hate, and anger they expressed towards immigrants was misplaced. Then they will direct their feelings towards the right place — the failures of our government.

Conversely, think what it will be like if we stay a member. Society will never heal. Tensions would just escalate and this atmosphere of divided communities would be permanently engraved in our country. If there is anything that the result exposed — it is just how deeply divided we are as a nation. And to me, the EU is just not worth that. As much as I am confident that the EU is good for our rights, our economy and our livelihood, it is just not good for our relations, and that is the most important thing in society, as we all have to live side by side with one another.

A critical reader might point out that Brexit will worsen relations between the UK, since Scotland is threatening to leave and Ireland is looking to unify. I’m sorry, but I just don’t agree. Yes, Scotland and Northern Ireland are crying right now, but so is London. And let’s not treat everything as numbers. Around 40% of Scotts wanted to leave, and 45% of Northern Ireland too. Do we just forget about that minority? News flash — those are people too. And currently, both countries are part of the UK. As soon as our economy is back on track, they will get over it. They will not choose an unprivileged seat (they will not have the same privileged position the UK had) in the EU over us — their neighbour. If they would, then good riddance.

In other words, I am positive.

Rather than crying about the result of the referendum, this is a time that we need to think clearly, heal our country and get back on track. There is thus no time to waste. We need a new government and new MP’s that are committed to the idea of domestic sovereignty and that can get our country back on track to engage with the rest of the world.

Personally, I think a general election is in order and Andrea Leadsom should emerge as Prime Minister, for reasons I wont bore you with here.

The Current Political Climate

Before I retire, I would like to share, very briefly, some of my views on the current political climate:

  1. No, I do not think the 17 million people that voted leave were all racist xenophobes whose only reason to vote was immigration. To brand nearly half of the adult population as such would be ignorant and stereotypical. Just because someone disagrees with you, does not mean they are bad people. At the same time, however, there were undoubtedly a lot of racist xenophobes who did vote leave on the basis of immigration — and specifically, because of their views on Muslims.
  2. After Tony Blair’s illegal war in Iraq, I will never vote Labour. I was beginning to change my mind and would have voted Labour had Jeremy Corbyn remained as leader, but it looks like he will be ousted and the Blairites are going to return to power. So, unless Corbyn stays, Labour will never be getting my vote unless another man like Corbyn emerges.
  3. We must do everything we can to stop Boris Johnson and Theresa May from becoming Prime Minister. Boris Johnson is not fit for the job, and Theresa May wants to scrap the Human Rights Act. Thus, owing to the likely consequences of both of their leaderships, I regard them both as a threat to national security.
  4. Petitioning for a second referendum is silly. 16 million people voted to remain, so why are we surprised that an e-petition has reached nearly 3 million signatures?

Let’s stop wasting time and get on with things. It will be rough, but in the long run, things will be better off.