Reflections one year after the EU Referendum

Below is taken from a tweet storm by Roland Smith, which he invited me to write up, me having expressed the hope that it would be published and read more widely — not that that’s going to be achieved by me publishing it on my own modest blog!

There was always one thing at the root of Euroscepticism: the democracy argument, that the connection between the Government and governed had been blurred. That argument is split into two:

(1) The EU’s existence and modus operandi neutered UK democracy by the direct effect of laws, and by majority voting. This first aspect of the democracy argument has been rehearsed at length many times. It focuses on the shortcomings of the EU itself.
(2) The second part of the democracy argument is that UK politics is itself at fault. It took us into EU and outsourced its functions; then didn’t renew the EU mandate, as became necessary at the time of Maastricht, Lisbon, and the years in between and beyond.

UK politics infantilised itself during this process, gradually descending into empty slogan politics and losing respect along the way. The pro-EU side in the UK, leading this descent, has constantly sold EU membership as something it isn’t: namely economic and transactional, playing down the EU’s influence and reach over years. “It’s only the size of the BBC or Scottish office; few laws come from there”.

Euroscepticism’s case that “we’ve been lied to for years about EU” is entirely valid, but it’s generally not the EU that did the lying. This second aspect of the democracy argument is rarely heard these days because Leave figureheads are themselves politicians, and because Leave politics has itself been drawn into the infantilisation process, led down by the Ukipification of British Euroscepticism.

So the EU Referendum was a battle of SW1 infants. But at least this was surfaced for all to see. The uselessness of SW1 is still illustrated daily.

Also revealed by the EU Referendum (as Remain Ultras ironically sneer) is how hugely integrated into the EU we’ve become, close to point of no exit. Euroscepticism’s longstanding case of being lied to, and the UK being massively integrated, is seemingly proven.

Meanwhile the Remain lobby still sing the old song of economics and a transactional relationship, quietly wondering why it isn’t working. And the relatively recently infantilised Leave movement just wants it all sorted NOW (as infants do) and without serious engagement.

‘Free movement’ is illustrative. The EU locks down a part of UK immigration debate BUT various UK Govts also failed to do what they can. In this sense, Farage has been Westminster’s useful idiot, putting the entire blame for uncontrolled immigration” on the EU.

So Voters in the general election sent an aggregated message to SW1 saying “A plague on all your houses”. And who can blame them?

What the election outcome demands is a more considered approach to Brexit from all parties. Yet they now seem incapable of stepping up.

The bottom line: the rot must be stopped the Government made fully accountable to the governed. That starts with Brexit — howsoever long it takes.