Be proud of British Democracy
The last five years has been a political rollercoaster for the UK. We have had three elections and two major constitutional referendums. Major issues have been raised and debated with all sides engaging enthusiastically and sometimes angrily in the process. It has been divisive for communities and for the country as a whole as the union has come under strain. It could be argued that we are more politically and culturally divided than at any time in our recent history.
But set against this is actually how well the country has dealt with these challenges. Political violence barring the tragic death of Jo Cox has been largely absent. Protests have been mostly peaceful and more about proving that the differing sides were not backing down. This compares well to our nearest neighbour France where escalating violence from both sides has been the order of the day since the start of the Gilets Jeunes protests in November 2018 and the series of strikes over pensions that started at the end of 2019.
With the EU referendum this peacefulness has been especially impressive when you consider the way that the losing side refused to provide consent and accept the result. In fact quite the opposite - they attempted to overturn the democratic vote using any means necessary. All done with a sense of entitlement that would have made Louis XVI blush.
In Westminster we saw sustained efforts to overturn the referendum from within parliament. Lords, MP’s and the Speaker all worked together to slow and attempt to stop the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. This started with attempts to amend legislation and culminated with MP's reportedly working directly with the EU on legislation to impede the Executive. This was encouraged and facilitated by the Commons Speaker who had long since given up any pretence of impartiality.
A separate campaign was waged within the media to delegitimise the result. This started with stories of Russian bots and campaign overspending and then fell back to Project Fear over actually leaving. The media leapt at the idea of hard and soft Brexit and positively salivated at every catastrophic economic forecast. Underneath all of this though was consensus amongst the establishment that leave supporters were stupid ignorant racists who needed to be put back in their rightful place - how dare they speak up.
Leave voters who started out mildly amused by the response soon angered. You could feel the visceral anger in the country as parliament and the media went about their efforts. You could almost hear the whispers “How dare they - They hate us - They want to cheat us”. Still no real violence, still no reaction.
When the election came many were not sure of the likely result, Polling had shown a consistent lead for the Conservatives but maybe not enough for an overall majority. The London based media hadn’t seemed to have actually explored much of the country. A few including the Telegraphs Sherelle Jacobs had and were clear what was going to happen. Leave voters who had been disrespected and besmirched for 3.5 years were going to bite back.
Bite back they did - the Labour red wall in the north crumbled like a sand castle before the sea of leave anger. Constituencies which had never been Conservative fell in their droves. The beast of Bolsover Dennis Skinner was turfed out after 49 years of service - on and on it went. The look of shock on many Labour MP's faces whether they won or lost was the same. Voters would not be ignored and their birthright would mean something.
And in the end there was still no violence - the country accepted the result barring a few irreconcilables. There has been no mass riots and no attacks - people have accepted the election and that the Tories have won. But really the biggest winner is British democracy because it showed that votes mean something and they can’t be cast aside regardless of what the British and EU establishment thinks.
Just as importantly it has shown millions that if they speak up they can and will be heard. People and communities who have been ignored for years by the media and political class are back on the map. They have shown that they really can change the course of the country and will do if ignored. Labour and the Tories are now fighting for their attention and loyalty. That is the sign of a healthy democratic process in action. Kudos to all of them who took their chance at the referendum and grasped it.
For most the last 3.5 years has been an emotional rollercoaster following the many twists and turns. Many leave voters have felt anger towards though who would have trashed our democracy. Now there is relief that our country has proven the exception to the EU rule. We won’t vote again because the result is inconvenient and we will deliver on what was promised. Many may not agree with leaving but we should feel proud about that.
Be proud.
But set against this is actually how well the country has dealt with these challenges. Political violence barring the tragic death of Jo Cox has been largely absent. Protests have been mostly peaceful and more about proving that the differing sides were not backing down. This compares well to our nearest neighbour France where escalating violence from both sides has been the order of the day since the start of the Gilets Jeunes protests in November 2018 and the series of strikes over pensions that started at the end of 2019.
With the EU referendum this peacefulness has been especially impressive when you consider the way that the losing side refused to provide consent and accept the result. In fact quite the opposite - they attempted to overturn the democratic vote using any means necessary. All done with a sense of entitlement that would have made Louis XVI blush.
In Westminster we saw sustained efforts to overturn the referendum from within parliament. Lords, MP’s and the Speaker all worked together to slow and attempt to stop the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. This started with attempts to amend legislation and culminated with MP's reportedly working directly with the EU on legislation to impede the Executive. This was encouraged and facilitated by the Commons Speaker who had long since given up any pretence of impartiality.
A separate campaign was waged within the media to delegitimise the result. This started with stories of Russian bots and campaign overspending and then fell back to Project Fear over actually leaving. The media leapt at the idea of hard and soft Brexit and positively salivated at every catastrophic economic forecast. Underneath all of this though was consensus amongst the establishment that leave supporters were stupid ignorant racists who needed to be put back in their rightful place - how dare they speak up.
Leave voters who started out mildly amused by the response soon angered. You could feel the visceral anger in the country as parliament and the media went about their efforts. You could almost hear the whispers “How dare they - They hate us - They want to cheat us”. Still no real violence, still no reaction.
When the election came many were not sure of the likely result, Polling had shown a consistent lead for the Conservatives but maybe not enough for an overall majority. The London based media hadn’t seemed to have actually explored much of the country. A few including the Telegraphs Sherelle Jacobs had and were clear what was going to happen. Leave voters who had been disrespected and besmirched for 3.5 years were going to bite back.
Bite back they did - the Labour red wall in the north crumbled like a sand castle before the sea of leave anger. Constituencies which had never been Conservative fell in their droves. The beast of Bolsover Dennis Skinner was turfed out after 49 years of service - on and on it went. The look of shock on many Labour MP's faces whether they won or lost was the same. Voters would not be ignored and their birthright would mean something.
And in the end there was still no violence - the country accepted the result barring a few irreconcilables. There has been no mass riots and no attacks - people have accepted the election and that the Tories have won. But really the biggest winner is British democracy because it showed that votes mean something and they can’t be cast aside regardless of what the British and EU establishment thinks.
Just as importantly it has shown millions that if they speak up they can and will be heard. People and communities who have been ignored for years by the media and political class are back on the map. They have shown that they really can change the course of the country and will do if ignored. Labour and the Tories are now fighting for their attention and loyalty. That is the sign of a healthy democratic process in action. Kudos to all of them who took their chance at the referendum and grasped it.
For most the last 3.5 years has been an emotional rollercoaster following the many twists and turns. Many leave voters have felt anger towards though who would have trashed our democracy. Now there is relief that our country has proven the exception to the EU rule. We won’t vote again because the result is inconvenient and we will deliver on what was promised. Many may not agree with leaving but we should feel proud about that.
Be proud.
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