For those who grew up believing in an open, accepting, outward- looking country, where the government at least tried to govern for all the people, where there was a feeling of community and a desire to get along with everyone, regardless of age, gender and country of origin; for those who still believe in cooperation but also in rules that govern and restrain the more exuberantly selfish; to all of you out there who have looked upon government as a necessary instrument for making a better life for the majority – join me in a minute’s alienated silence for a lost dream.
If you think the new government of a post-Cameron “independent” Britain will reject neo-liberalism, reintroduce democracy, pay attention to the ignored electorate, bring the banks to heel, magically stop immigration (especially stop immigration) and so on, you will be sorely disappointed. The Brexit politicians, schooled in the right-wing American think-tanks, care not one jot about you. They care only about themselves. In pursuit of money and position they will make the rule of the big corporations stronger, reduce individual rights, tear up the EU rules and regulations that may be voluminous, but do protect us. They will encourage the rich with lower taxes and better laundering facilities. You? You will be on your own in an even worse jungle, with reduced pensions, social security and government services. That is, if the economy doesn’t implode. Gone will be the moderating influence from the EU, poorly run though it might be.
My anxiety is now for the young, who already have enough to contend with. Everything that happens now in the UK will be result of Brexit and the responsibility of those who voted for it. The latter will have to be grown-ups now and accept the consequences, and naturally they will blame everyone but themselves. As for me personally, I feel I have lost my country of birth. Ataraxia 0 – Stress 10.
Question: is it now logical for Britain to remain a member of NATO? NATO was created to ensure a
secure Western Europe against the threat of Russian ( Communist) expansion. The EU is the political expression and counterpart to NATO. Weaken the political framework (playing into the hands of Putin) and you weaken military cooperation, or, at the very least , make it awkward. The British public want their country to revert to a level of influence roughly similar to that before the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a small, insignificant offshore island, cut off from its neighbours. Surely, it must now leave NATO?
Well Turkey are outside the EU but inside NATO so I think our position inside NATO is secure. But even if we were to leave NATO, we could still have a decent foreign policy: Sweden and Finland show how you can make peace with Russia and participate in foreign interventions when necessary outside it.
Security issues aside, leaving the EU will leave Britain much worse off. Every major economics think tank and the vast majority of economists and finance workers think so. I also think our include abroad will be diminished, leaving the EU to be overly dominated by Germany. The best case scenario is that following this short term shock, growth rates will continue as previously. But we would no longer be working with Europe to solve the world’s problems, a great tragedy in my view.