An excess of Democracy

Tags

Brexit, Cameron, EU, Referendum, UK

In the Italian newspapers this morning was a quote by a known Italian politician who said that what happened in the UK was an excess of democracy and that the people will now have to pay for it. Like all things in life the middle position is always best and in this case we saw a PM, David Cameron gambling the future to save his own political career. So despite his professed love of England, he has like all power hungry politicians more attachment to his political career and survival, unfortunately for him, he will be remembered as the one who created this horrible mess. As for ex-Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farange the leader of UKIP, they were both opportunists and irresponsible during the campaign. However their victory is to assure them of political power, that is the name of the game. The future will show that dark days are ahead for England, nothing will ever be the same. There was no need for this referendum, Mr Cameron thought it would resolve a dispute within the Conservative Party, he did not seem to understand that the consequences could be this serious for the Nation.

On the voting figures, London is now effectively an enclave of its own – a city-state wholly divorced culturally, politically, financially and by its inclusive outlook from England. By those same figures, the young are in potentially irreconcilable conflict with their grandparents; the university educated with those bereft of higher education; and, if to a lesser degree, the urban with the rural.

This seems to a trend even in Canada, if one looks at the great cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal or the division by class and by level of education. What is truly worrying is the level of Civic Illiteracy amongst the average person who do not know how our Parliamentary democracy works or what the Constitution says about how we govern ourselves.

In this sense this was an excess of democracy, you do not launch into a referendum process when the population can be so easily manipulated and is ignorant of the most basic facts. When far right politicians like Farange are willing to play on the fear of people at their most basic, fear of the other, or invent stories about what membership cost. For those who believe that England can return with this vote to the mythical days of Empire and Mary Poppins or other symbols of a Britain of long ago, that will not happen.

Again in our Parliamentary system in Canada like in Britain, tradition is for the Government to lead in Parliament and to take action.  You do not hold referendums, Parliament is Sovereign and is elected to govern.

We now have a broken country, deeply divided and the exit vote is far too close to be considered valid. Scotland is now talking of holding another referendum to secede from the UK, since 62% of Scots voted to remain in the European Union. There is also the prospect that Ulster could unite with the Republic of Ireland to the South a strong member of the EU. That leaves England and Wales to go at it alone, a much diminished country.

What will also happen to the millions of Briton who work and own property in the EU? Not to mention all the other citizens of EU countries who work and reside in Britain. Lost of that workforce in the UK and returning British citizens will create an economic crisis.

How truly incompetent David Cameron and his government are and how opportunistic the Opposition, it will be interesting to see now what plan Boris Johnson or Nigel Farange come up with, I strongly suspect they do not have one.

Here is a map of England before 1707 and possibly the map of the England of tomorrow. I cannot imagine the Queen being terribly happy at that prospect.