To Hell With The Country, Party Poltical Power Politics Rule

To Hell With The Country, Party Political Power Politics Rule

The news that Theresa May has taken personal charge of the Brexit negotiations I take to be a good sign, in as far as anything concerned with Brexit can be termed good. It hadn't occurred to me before but a possible reason that negotiations with the EU have been going nowhere is that that is precisely what the hard-line Brexiteers intended: a no-deal exit. That, as is generally acknowledged, would be catastrophic for British commerce and industry, traditional supporters of the Conservative party, in the short to medium term (20-50 years even in the estimation of arch-Brexiteer Rees-Mogg?) and Theresa May is unwilling to lose that support. Hence her take-over of the negotiations. What then happens, as some kind of deal acceptable to the EU makes its appearance in Parliament, is anyone's guess. Much will depend on the attitude of Labour's Corbyn to any proposed deal, and since he is off with fairies on a cloud somewhere above his ivory tower, that too has to be anyone's guess. The eventual result, no doubt the crux of the negotiations here on in, is what can be presumed to obtain a majority approval in the British Parliament and be acceptable to the EU.

What should be abundantly clear in all this is that the welfare of Britain is the least of concerns of anyone in power in the UK. Prognosticators on all sides seem to agree that Brexit will damage the UK and that is OK with both of the main political parties. All previous appeals to patriotism, sovereignty, taking control, etc, can now been seen as in truth the window-dressing they always were. What is at stake for the politicians is not the country but their power in the party political battle. With the British public presented with a choice between political extremes of right and left, and no one of significance in the middle, moderate ground, the interests of the country can go hang.

I find that very sad. In practical terms, it may (or may not, depending on the eventual outcome), matter to me very much, but our children and grandchildren will have to live with the result of a purely temporary, sordid little party political power struggle. And it looks as though nobody in political power in the UK, the guardians of the country's welfare, cares.