This blog has made no secret of its position regarding the EU and Brexit. Last October, we laid out the evidence showing that the result of the referendum no longer represented the views of the UK electorate. This was based not on people chaning their mind, but on the change of the demographaics of the electorate and the narrowness of the vote. When we analysed the vote, we found that the number of elderly Brexit voterds who passed away and no longer have a stake in the process and the number of young people likely to favour remain, meant that if not a single soul had changed their mind, the current electorate would be highly likely to deliver a different result. As the majority for #Brexit was tiny, we've always felt that another referendum to endorse or reject any final position would be appropriate.
We believe that if the #Brexiteers have made their case, this would be a formal rubber stamping and would offer the opportunity to put the argument to bed forever. If the electorate decides that after the years of attempting to work out something that would be in the interests of the UK, remaining is the best option, then that too should be respected. If the ERG and the rest of the #Brexit family believe they have a good case, why can't they trust the people. For the last referendum, we had dodgy Dave Cameron and Greasy George Osborne in charge of Remain, they ran an inept campaign based on a load of highly dodgy claims. I for one am not in the least surprised that they lost. If Dave had been honest and said "The EU isn't great, I've not managed to get any meaningful concessions from them, but the alternative to remain is years of political chaos, which will damage the UK for decades and split the country, so please vote remain as it is the least bad of all options", people may hae trusted him a bit more. It would also have helped if he'd actually bothered to talk of all of the benefits.
But that is history, here we are today. There is no majority for anything in Parliament. I suspect that the only solution is to let the public do the job that the politicians can't. I just wanted to lay out my position, so that my comments about our local MP's can be taken with full background and context.
In the London Borough of Barnet, we have three MP's. These are Mike Freer in Finchley and Golders Green, Theresa Villiers in Chipping Barnet and Matthew Offord in Hendon. All three are Conservatives. In yesterdays vote, Freer voted for the Government motion and Offord and Villiers voted against, as they are both hard line Brexiteers. Lets discuss Mike Freer first. He is a junior whip, and it would be the end of his pretty unspectacular career if he defied the whip. Like his two colleagues, Mike Freer was not elected because there is a large consensus in Finchley and Golders Green that thinks he's a marvellous MP, clever, good looking or full of saintly compassion. He was elected because he persuaded the Conservative Party that he was the best candidate. The party invested a huge amount of money and effort into making sure local people knew he was a Conservative Candidate and that they knew what the Conservative manifesto was. Every single Conservative voter should expect Mike Freer to vote in line with Conservative Party policy. Therefore no one could reasonably complain that Freer had not done what he was mandated to do.
However there is a big difference between this vote and every other vote. This vote was one where there had been a national referendum. Freer voted Remain.He knows that Brexit, whatever its form will be bad for the UK. We can make a case for him doing what he is paid to do, to enact Conservative policy, however there is another side to this. Freer's constituency voted strongly to remain. He knows that any sort of leaving will be bad for the UK. But Mike Freer has kept his head down and said nothing. His website has said nothing about the EU and last nights vote. In short, he has shown no backbone. Is it any surprise that we are in this mess if MP's show no backbone to stand up for what their constituenciesvoted for.
Then there is Villiers and Offord. Like Freer, they only have their job because they were selected to represent the Tory party. But unlike Freer, they are Brexiteers. They represent trongly remain constituencies, but have voted against May as they want a hard Brexit. Whilst at least Freer has a fig leaf of being able to say he voted in line with the party that sponsors him, the other two have simply gone off on an ego trip. They are not representing either their party or the majority will of their voters. I suspect that amid all of the chaos, they will get away with it. Not least because all of the local Tory associations are strongly biased towards leave. Maybe I am just very naive, but ultimately I think that MP's should represent the people who elect them. As such, the behaviour of these three is shameful.
My suspicion is that this chaos will go on for a very long time. Whilst MP's feel that they can stick two fingers up at the public and get away with it, there is little hope. To be honest, I am sick of the whole thing. Whilst the vote was being cast, we went to watch the new Laurel and Hardy film. It is brilliant. The fim has many parallels with how I suspect Brexit will play out (from the perspective of leavers). The film starts with them at the height of their careers in 1937. They want a better deal. It ends in Ireland in tears.
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