So what does "Brexit" mean?

"Brexit means Brexit"

It's a phrase seemingly adopted by a significant number of our politicians recently (as demonstrated by an amusing little video which I of course can no longer find), and technically, yes, it is an accurate one.

There may be a lot of disagreement over exactly how clear it is, but it's hard to argue against the fact that there is indeed some kind of a mandate from the people for this "Brexit" thing. We live in a democracy where it was agreed by parliament that the general population would be able to make a decision on "Brexit". And if you put aside the fact that most of the campaigning and media circus around the referendum was based on a mixture of outright lies and personal attacks (since apparently this is a "post-fact" world) I don't see many strong arguments for invalidating the result.

So it seems then that "Brexit" is inevitable. And as our elected representatives keep reminding us, "Brexit means Brexit". So what's the problem?

Well the problem is that despite what they may be saying, many people have taken "Brexit" to mean a vast amount more than just "Brexit" and are using the mandate provided by the referendum to justify an array of actions and measures that go far beyond what was actually voted for. The clue is in the name. "Brexit" = British Exit. The mandate provided is for Britain to leave the E.U., nothing more. There was no vote to sever all ties with our neighbours, no vote to cripple businesses in this country by blocking free movement of trade and workers, no vote to implement xenophobic laws that discriminate against anyone who happened to lose the lottery of where they were born.

In many ways the problem here was presenting an issue full of complexity as a simple yes/no question. Everyone who voted in the referendum had their own idea of the outcome they were voting for, and yet so far the government seems to have decided to go with the view of the tabloids, likely trying to get "popular opinion" back on their side and recoup some of their prior losses to UKIP. But ultimately there has been no vote on the terms of leaving the E.U. and there exists no mandate for any kind of "hard Brexit".

As much as I might like to, I can't blame the voters for this situation. How can one expect your average person on the street to fully understand the nuances of how a decision as big as this might affect so many aspects of the country and our daily lives? Yes, it is important for any decisions that are taken to represent the general population, but we don't employ MPs purely to vote based on a simple majority. It is their job to do the due diligence in terms of research and make decisions on our behalf. What this absolutely does not mean is that it is up to the government and their cronies to make those decisions outright. They are entitled to present potential options, but there must be a full debate in parliament about any terms of any "Brexit".

At this point it feels like the term "Brexit" is being used as an excuse for anything and everything. I realise I'm once again risking being labelled a "Remoaner", but even though I may disagree wholeheartedly with the idea of leaving the E.U. I do accept the result of the referendum. What I don't accept is the blatant racism, xenophobia and ignorance it seems to have unleashed on this country. And what I cannot stand is this pretence that these feelings are representative of this nation as a whole, legitimised by a referendum that could never justify anything more than the activating of Article 50.

Surely the least we can expect from an elected government is that they take the time to fully discuss the implications of any deals to be made?

"Brexit means Brexit", but that's all it means.

I am a citizen of the world

I thought I'd come to terms with it. I really did. I thought I had managed to accept the changing political landscape and all the consequences of it. I mean, sure, I wasn't happy with it all but in some ways that's just the nature of living in a democracy. A majority (by some definition) of the population had spoken and, as a result, decisions were made that will probably shape not just the future of the country, but potentially the continent and even the world.

Looking back on some of the things I wrote both before and after the referendum I was reminded of a whole range of emotions. Optimism, complacency, worry, shock, sadness, anger, disbelief, pragmatism and then some more optimism, they were all in there. And despite my misgivings over the result, I had hope that this would all be a shot in the arm for our domestic policies and would enable us to have a clear and frank discussion over the very real worries and fears of a sizeable section of the populace.

And despite my frustrations during the intervening months that we seemed to lack anything even vaguely resembling a plan and my despair at an opposition party consumed by infighting, I was still optimistic that the worst was behind us and in the end logic and sense would prevail.

How wrong I was. Over the last few days, I've felt all those emotions coming flooding back and in greater force than ever. What the actual fuck is going on?

So apparently I haven't been paying enough attention. Apparently when you win a referendum that was mired in lies, deceit and power-grabbing by a few percent, that's a "clear result". There are many democratic institutions in the world where that wouldn't be enough to even be declared a result. And apparently British politics is now centred around whether your particular brand of xenophobia is politically correct or not. And in the meantime, anyone who displays even a sniff of dissent is branded a "remoaner". Last time I checked, a key component of democracy is to be able to express your opinion about the policies being enacted on your behalf and the right to feel represented in government.

Now I appreciate that while it would be nice if it were possible to live in a peaceful world where everyone had the same opportunities and rights, the concept of nations and borders is a necessary one, at least for now. And likewise, immigration control is an important component of those borders. But if I was someone who had jumped through all the hoops in order to gain the right to work in a country then I would be pretty shocked to then be labelled as "foreign" and made to feel like no matter how much I contributed to that country I was still inferior.

I might be pleased to hear the prime minister declare that she wanted to make the country a place "...where everyone plays by the same rules and where every single person, regardless of their background or that of their parents, is given the chance to be all they want to be...", but judging by the comments from the rest of government, that comes with the caveat that it only applies if you're British.

Even if we put to one side the disgusting xenophobia that is becoming more prevalent in political rhetoric, I don't see how any of these new "policies" are going to do anything but damage our economy. Why would a global company want to invest in the U.K. if the government won't let them transfer any of their staff into the U.K.? Why would they want to submit themselves to draconian policies designed to shame them for recruiting the best talent they can find. Does the government really think that companies are just going to go along with this? Immigration is an unavoidable fact of most trade deals and having a global economy and that isn't going to change just because we've decided we don't like it.

And even though there apparently isn't any money available for the NHS (ever since the magical £350m evaporated), we can afford to spend more money on training new doctors even though there probably won't be any decent jobs available for them in the end because we can't afford to pay them. Oh, and if they decide to go abroad to actually have a reasonable standard of living? We'll fine them. But it would probably be worth it.

Seriously, who gives a flying fuck where someone was born? Does that make them any less of a person? Does that flip of the coin mean they are any less deserving of having a reasonable life where they strive to make the best of themselves? Multi-culturalism is a wonderful thing that needs to be embraced, not feared. Oh, and Theresa, fuck off, I am a citizen of the world, and nothing you say can take that away from me.

And so it begins?

I wondered how long it would take until this kind of deeply disturbing government policy would emerge. I had thought they would wait until Brexit started to take hold, but apparently not.

In a modern, globally interconnected world, why are we still so obsessed with rights being contingent on where we were born? Is a talented foreigner worth so much less than someone who won the luck of the draw and was born here?

With the many assurances coming out of the government that they will be able to ensure continued foreign investment in the economy, you would have thought we would be looking to make it easy for companies to work in this country rather than establishing a protectionist mindset. Why would a company open an office in Britain if they can't bring over any of their own staff? Why would they willingly subject themselves to the kind of draconian rules that have been proposed?

This is the 21st century. Surely in a time of global instability we should be looking outwards and seeking to make friends rather than cultivating insularity and turning our backs on the rest of the world.

Credibility

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't mind #Brexit half as much if we had a plan based on facts.

It's the uncertainty killing the financial markets.
It's the lack of leadership that is screwing up the political system.
It's the lack of facts that has left us in such a mess.

If the leave campaign was run by someone I respect who could demonstrate with a credible exit plan then I would be much more accepting of the result.

Democracy

Today I have my positive hat on.

Good things that could potentially come out of this mess:

People realise their vote can count for something, leading towards a more proportional way of electing our government.

People realise that many politicians are barefaced liars, leading towards a new political movement based on honest facts and less poisonous rhetoric.

The EU realises that it needs to do more to engage with citizens to make them feel more empowered and to inform them of how their votes affect EU policy.

The government realises it can no longer afford to ignore large swathes of the population who have real issue with and are suffering because of the way they have been ignored by Westminster.

People realise that there is a hardcore xenophobic and racist section of the population and will come together to do something about this through education and working together.

Unlikely maybe, but never underestimate what a united population can do.

#BuildBridgesNotWalls

Politics today

I've spent some time today doing some reading and trying to understand why people have decided to vote to leave the EU. I still resolutely believe that it was the wrong result, but I do think I have learned a few things which I will try and explain here.

Politics in the country is broken. This was referendum fought with hyperbole and lies, preying on people's deepest fears. Most of the information that came out of both sides was quite poisonous and has created a toxic atmosphere of us vs. them.

For instance, my view of the campaign consisted of what my friendship groups though (at least 90% remain) and then the rubbish that was spouted by Johnson, Gove, Farage etc. This made it very easy to assume that everyone who voted leave was precisely as crazy as them. But when you get past the people on the front page, I have found very measured arguments, not based on any kind of xenophobia. People who have clearly thought this through, people who I could have had a sensible debate with.

And I imagine it looked the same to them. A remain campaign that was focused on all the disasters that would befall us should we leave the EU, where as there were plenty of people in this country who would have welcomed a sensible debate without all the rhetoric flying around.

Yes there are always going to be people who vote for headlines without thinking it through, but it makes me quite sad to see quite so many people on social media and elsewhere who are making personal attacks at people who did due diligence and have plenty of evidence to back up their opinions. But when you have politicians who are indistinguishable from those people who write these ridiculous headlines, what do you expect?

And yes, there are some despicable, racist people in this country who probably see this vote as a way of legitimising their actions, but how can we hold those people who voted not on the basis of immigration accountable for the acts of people who would have continued their appalling behaviour regardless of the outcome.

The politicians' lack of any real substance has become even more apparent now, with no real exit-plan to speak of. This means there is no way of having sensible discussions around what the next steps are and how we can mitigate the economic hole we have fallen into. Instead the markets continue to sink into the abyss and none of the leadership of the leave campaign can be bothered to put their hands up and do something about it, with one story indicating that they expected No. 10 to have an exit plan for them to use.

The hard truth of the matter is that no-one really has any idea what will happen post-EU or whether we will ever be able to go through with the exit. In a time of uncertainty such as this, the least we can do is spend our time productively and try and figure the best way forward for everyone, instead of name-calling and finger-pointing. Regardless of your opinion, the vote shows that this is a divided country and very finely balanced.

So go ahead and make your opinion known, debate it, come up with new ways to explain your point of view and try to convince others. But don't assume that there aren't valid reasons to disagree with you and certainly don't tar everyone with the brush of the moronic politicians who have managed to get us into this mess. There are many permutations remaining, so let's try and come up with ways to get us out of this shithole we have been left in.

I do think it was a mistake, but I for one accept it as the will of half the population, even if that will was heavily influenced by lies and manipulations of the 1%.

#BuildBridgesNotWalls

Build bridges not walls

I hate the result of the vote.
I hate how the leave campaign was run based on lies and inflammatory comments.
I hate the media for their big headlines with no substance.
I hate the division it has caused in the country I was proud to be a part of.
I hate that it has legitimised so much vitriol and racism in parts of or population.
I hate how it will affect not just so many hard working people from EU countries, but also most of my generation's future.
I hate how this might change the landscape of British politics for the worst.
I hate seeing how much pain and anguish people are suffering because of it.

But. I don't hate the people who voted out of genuine concern for their livelihoods. I don't hate how this could galvanise some real engagement around political issues. I don't hate that I am seeing concerted efforts to heal the wounds and figure out how we can make things better.

I still love this country and I want to understand why we've got to this point.

#BuildBridgesNotWalls

https://naomipenfold.com/2016/06/25/build-bridges-not-walls/