From top: Former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and British Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn; Bryan Wall
Brexit has become such a fiasco that the only way forward is a general election. Theresa May’s proposals have consistently been voted down and mocked. Despite her promise to resign if her latest proposal got voted through, it still failed to pass a vote.
And now we’re in a situation where her own party dislikes her so much that they don’t even want to let her resign. Instead they are insisting that she goes down with the ship as it surely will as soon as a general election is called.
The Tories have only been able to stay in power this long because of an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). This is a party whose ignorance would embarrass the troglodytes of the world.
It opposed and continues to oppose the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and baulks at the slightest idea of anything Irish being in its general proximity. Yet it continues to hold some level of sway for the simple reason that the Tories would rather have creationist bigots pulling their strings than allow a Labour-led government come into power.
And now we’re in a situation where absolutely nothing that could help sort out the Brexit problem can get any traction. In fact, we’re in such a farcical situation that Nigel Dodds, the DUP leader in Westminster, has said that it would now be better for the UK to stay in the EU.
His reasoning is that he would rather “stay in the European Union rather than risk Northern Ireland’s position. That’s how strongly I feel about the Union”.
Dodds seems to be inadvertently letting his ignorance of the GFA shine through. It doesn’t matter whether Northern Ireland stays in the UK. Brexit or no Brexit, a border poll is coming whether he likes it or not.
In spite of this his party still managed to hold the Tories hostage over the last two years because of the numbers after the 2017 general election. But now it appears that no matter what happens, the next general election will destroy the Tories.
The Mail on Sunday is now reporting that according to a new poll the Tories are 5 points behind Labour. If an election was held now, Labour would come out with 307 seats with the Tories ending up with 264. Not exactly known for its love of Jeremy Corbyn and Labour, that the Mail is reporting this is telling.
All the while Boris Johnson is lurking on the sidelines. From here he takes the occasional snipe at May and her coterie, awaiting for what he likely believes is his birthright to fall into his lap.
Johnson wouldn’t be a bumbling, idiotic prime minister like so many believe he would be. This image of aloofness is one he carefully fosters. It’s a disarming tactic for a man who views the British Empire as the pinnacle of human civilisation. Johnson worships at the altar of Thatcher. All he lacks is the subtlety.
What none of them seem to care about are the real-world consequences of their actions or lack thereof.
For them, society is theoretical. It is something “out there” that is beyond the bounds of their experience; an experience defined by privilege that they all share in. It may have began at Eton but it continues into Oxbridge and beyond. Brexit is a perfect example of this.
Rich, privileged, elites deciding on the future of Britain without an ounce of concern for the wider population. Peasants be damned, the project must succeed. A project in which the idea of British “independence” from Europe is assured. A project in which British exceptionalism can once again stalk the globe.
Brexit has nothing to do about freedom and democracy. It has everything to do with Jacob Rees-Mogg and company wanting to recreate and relive British greatness. It comes at the expense of the British population and, if it goes ahead, our own too.
A new study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that Brexit is going to damage the Irish economy no matter what form it takes. Wages will be driven down, exports will fall, unemployment will go up, and the economy will shrink. These are not minor consequences.
And what has the response of our own government been? It has been slow and appears to have relied on the loyalty of the EU. This was a major gamble, and an irresponsible one at that. But it appears to have worked out, for now, as the EU has stood firm in the face of May, the DUP, and Brexit. But the major question, leaving out Ireland, is what comes next?
May is not long for the political world. With the DUP pulling her strings and Rees-Mogg and Johnson doing everything they can to undermine her it’s hard to imagine a more pitiful sight than May pleading with MPs to vote for her Brexit bill. If a general election was called tomorrow Corbyn’s Labour would be victorious.
One won’t be but it does presage things to come. And remember, this is in spite of all the vituperative articles and headlines aimed at Corbyn over the last few years.
If the entire Brexit mess has done one thing it has likely ensured a Labour victory at the polls in any general election. Whether Corbyn is at the helm is another question. However, he has lasted this long. He has nothing to lose and everything to win. And a Labour government can only be good for us.
At the very least it’ll show people that it is possible to challenge the system and win. The victory might be minor in the grander scheme of things but it is still a victory.
The forces in politics and the media that have consistently tried to destroy a man of, by all accounts, impeccable ethics will have failed to halt his rise. A success of this scale, regardless of one’s particular left-leaning views, should not be dismissed out of hand. It will have been hard-won.
The alternative is a Boris Johnson or a Jacob Rees-Mogg in charge of one of the world’s largest economies; an economy which also happens to be our closest neighbour. At that stage dystopian fiction will have truly become irrelevant.
A Corbyn victory is a necessity.
Bryan Wall is an independent journalist based in Cork. His column usually appears here every Monday but owing to the Bank Holiday… Read more of Bryan’s work here and follow on twitter: @Bryan_Wall
Pic: Getty
