Category Archives: Brexit

Wakefield reflections…

12 Monday Dec 2016

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My job and my wanderlust take me all over the place, which can be both good and bad. I get to see some truly inspiring or stunning places, but then there’s the flip side of the coin and today was it..

After spending the morning taking portraits of the new (and old) staff members of ACoRP in Huddersfield I had to head to London. I was too late to catch the last of Grand Central’s morning services to the capital and the weather was too grey and grim for decent photography so I came up  with the idea of heading over to Wakefield to have a look at the revamped Kirkgate station, then have a mooch around town. I once crowned Kirkgate as the UKs worst station but the place has come on in leaps and bounds since then. Millions has been spent refurbishing it, bringing it back to life as a business centre as well as a station. It also boasts a café, which seems to be thriving. It was certainly busy when I popped in for a coffee. Whilst I was there I bumped into Andy Savage from the Railway Heritage Trust. He and his colleagues were visiting to weigh up the stations suitability as a home for a L&Y Rly war memorial that’s been stored at the East Lancs railway ever since Horwich works closed in the 1980s.

Having had my mood lifted by the company and the coffee I made the mistake of wandering into the town. Now you have to remember that Wakefield voted by 66.4% to 33.6% to leave the EU, yet, when you stroll through the place it’s pretty obvious that without the Poles and other immigrants the town centre would be devoid of a huge number of shops (and jobs). I bought 4 lovely samosas for £2 at a kebab shop run by Turkish Cypriots. Walking on up to the cathedral I passed numerous other shops which were either foreign owned or staffed by foreign nationals. So, where were the Brits? Well, I was accosted by a few who were begging, and the Wetherspoons appeared to be full of them – as did one or two of the other pubs I passed. Here’s the problem. Many of the Brits I saw were obviously economically inactive – and a fair few looked like they’d be incapable of holding down any job for very long. The contrast was stark – and uncomfortable. I wonder how many of Brits begging or spending their time getting pissed were the ones who voted to Leave the EU so they could kick out the foreigners? Will they be setting up businesses in the empty shops if the Poles and others have to leave? Perhaps some of the British pensioners who may be forced to leave Spain or Portugal settle could take on a kebab shop or two? This is the madness of Brexit. The politics of resentment (stoked by millionaires like Arron Banks) has fuelled a looming economic disaster that will impoverish the towns like Wakefield that voted for it – and it’s not going to be a pretty sight…

Wakefield is a classic example of the fact that you can spend millions of pounds on new buildings and tarting up the town centre, but then what do you do about the people? I struggle to understand what Wakefield thought they would gain by voting leave (other then the ones who genuinely wanted to kick out foreigners, obviously). Brexit hasn’t let them ‘take back control’. It hasn’t left them any better off – exactly the opposite. It won’t reopen the coal mines or the other traditional industries the area used to rely on for jobs, like glass and textiles. It won’t magically turn the economically inactive into Captains of industry. So what will it give them? I wonder if, when the Government ever come clean on what Brexit really does mean – and looks like, will the citizens of Wakefield still think it was a good idea?

A good day for democracy so, of course, Brexiteers are getting nasty.

03 Thursday Nov 2016

Posted by in Brexit, Democracy

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Since the referendum result this country really has felt a surreal place. It’s been like one of those parallel universes so beloved of science fiction writers. You know, one of those places that (superficially) look and sound the same but have startling and unsettling differences. So, what was once an outward, democratic, fairly prosperous and socially liberal country was replaced overnight with one that was inward, xenophobic, illiberal  that had a whiff of fascism about it and that was happy to ruin its economy for the chimera of having ‘taken back control’.

Today, that division has been thrown into stark relief as the High Court has ruled that Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU and that the government cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – beginning formal discussions with the EU – on their own.

This is clearly a victory for democracy. You would have thought Brexiteers would be welcoming the decision. After all, they campaigned for sovereignty, democracy and Parliament, for us to ‘take back control’.

Not a bit of it. Instead the rhetoric and threats have more in common with a fascist dictatorship. Here’s a few comments from Twitter.

50-war

ukip-mep

twit-nazi

But the ‘best’ has to be the Daily Mail comments. Take a look at these – and this is a mainstream newspaper for God’s sake…

heil-2

And finally…

daily-heil

This is why I worry about the future of my country.

 

Respect democracy we’re told, but why should you respect a lie?

26 Sunday Jun 2016

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I’m on my way to London before heading off to Germany tomorrow and (like most people) I’m trying the make sense of the political and economic chaos that’s engulfed us since the Brexit vote. I share something else with many people at the moment too – I’m angry.

I’m angry that I’m repeatedly being asked to ‘respect’ a referendum result that was secured by the most monumental, bare-faced lies.

This wasn’t the cut and thrust claims of everyday politics, or the manifesto promises of general election campaigns. This wasn’t a result that could be corrected at the next general election when the deceit became plain, no, this was weapons-grade dishonesty of the most breath-taking kind that was meant to settle a question once and for all time.

I’m talking of the ‘we’ll save £350m a week and spend it on the NHS’ claim, not to mention the ‘Turkey is joining the EU’ claim, or the one that appealed to many – that immigration would be ‘controlled’. In fact, the ridiculous campaign slogan “Vote Leave, take control” now seems like a sick joke when it’s obvious the UK is now completely out of control, both financially and politically! The horrible truth is the Brexiteers had no plan – just lies – and now it’s all starting to become clear as one after another, they’re forced to admit they lied and that the promises they made to secure their victory can’t be delivered.

So, why should I or anyone else respect the result? This wasn’t democracy in action, this was fraud.

Even some of those people who were taken in by the fraud are expressing their anger and dismay now that Brexit leaders are finally admitting their claims were false – but only after the results are in of course…

Meanwhile, two of the architects of this destruction, Gove and Johnson are looking rather sick. Cameron has left them holding the Brexit baby. He’s not going to trigger Article 50 and the process that would end of our membership of the EU ( and almost certainly lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom). Instead he’s exposed the fact that none of the bold Brexiteers actually have a plan!

If this wasn’t being played out in the real world it would make a gripping political drama. As it is, it’s a bloody nightmare. It’s real. It’s affecting millions of people and the world’s economy. No wonder they’re looking sick. Johnson’s hubris is about to cost us all dear.

So yes, I AM angry – and I know many other people are too. Our elected representatives need to understand that anger, rather than talk glibly about ‘respecting’ a referendum result secured by lies. So let’s stay angry folks, until we find politicians who have the guts and honesty to sort this mess out.

I went to sleep in Gt Britain. I woke up in little England

24 Friday Jun 2016

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I write this with a terrible sadness. I have a feeling that I’ve just witnessed the most tragic act of national self-mutilation my generation will see. Great Britain has voted to leave the European Union and I have a horrible feeling that this will be the last national act the United Kingdom will ever make. Already, there are calls for Scotland to have another referendum on leaving the Union. There are also calls for Northern Ireland to join with the Irish republic as both they and the Scots voted strongly to remain.

Now, we start to face the consequences of the vote. “Project Fear” now looks more and more like “Project reality check” as the effects people were warned about but chose to ignore come to pass. Already the pound has nose-dived and the stock market has lost 7%.

My fear is that this really is a case of turkeys voting for Christmas. The old and the fearful have selfishly set the future for the young. The poor have been gulled by the millionares and media magnates, not understanding they will bear the brunt of the consequences as our economy takes the hit. How long will it last for? No-one knows. We are all in uncharted territory here.

Of course, it’s not just us. The shockwaves will be felt outside the UK too. We’ve plunged the world into uncertainty. Have we triggered a new world recession? I sincerely hope not, but the signs are not looking good. I’d love to be proved wrong on that.

What now? None of us really know, although I have a nasty suspicion that this will lead to a much more fragmented and divisive society. Sooner or later, those who’ve voted out on the promise that it will end immigration and ‘free’ the UK from the economic shackles of the EU will realise they’ve been fooled. Already Farage has admitted that the £350m claim the Leave campaign trumpeted as the weekly ‘cost’ of the EU was actually untrue. Gove and Johnson have asked Cameron to stay on as PM – presumably because they don’t want to take responsibility for the shit-storm they’ve just unleashed, and because (as we knew) they don’t actually have a plan.

The old Chinese curse has come true. We’re living in ‘interesting’ times…

The senseless murder of Jo Cox MP

16 Thursday Jun 2016

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After a lovely day with community rail friends in Glossop, Dawn & I were shocked beyond measure to hear of the brutal & senseless murder of Jo Cox, the MP for Batley & Spen. We knew Jo. We met her at the founding meeting of the friends of Batley station just before she was elected as an MP. She was bright, friendly, committed & compassionate. She knew how to make things happen and she did it with both winning ways and good humour. It was obvious from that first meeting with her that she had a great political future ahead of her and that Batley (and politics in general) would benefit from her being in Westminster. Instead, she’s been killed in a senseless, politically motivated murder. I’ve written before about how the present political campaign has opened Pandora’s box & released a terribly poisonous mix of resentments. This is obviously part of that mix. I always thought the UK was better than this. Today, I’m really not so sure. All I can hope is that this tragedy makes some people stop and think about the direction this country may be heading. It’s time to reject the divisive folk & the philosophy that talks of its fellow citizens as traitors & accuses them of treason before it’s too late. These fools have just deprived both us and Batley of a compassionate and caring MP and her husband & children of a wife and mother. It’s not too late to step back from the abyss…

The big Brexit myth of an ‘undemocratic’ EU.

24 Tuesday May 2016

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The bedrock of the Brexit campaign is the myth that the EU is “undemocratic”, so to “get our country back” (a nonsense phrase if ever there was one) we have to leave the EU. The lynch-pin of their argument is that European Commissioners aren’t elected – ergo the EU is ‘undemocratic’.

This argument falls for a whole host of reasons. Firstly, the European Commission is the equivalent of the British Civil Service. Have you ever voted for a civil servant? Of course not. We elect the people who direct the Civil Servants and the EU is exactly the same. Here’s a diagram of how EU democracy and oversight works.

EU make laws

 

As you can see, no legislation can become law unless the elected MEPs agree. If they don’t the legislation is sent back to the commission where it’s either redrafted in the light of MEPs objections or it’s binned. The Commission cannot pass laws themselves. So, there’s genuine democratic oversight.

There’s another thing. Brexiteers are either incredibly ignorant of how Parliamentary democracy works in the UK, or they’re deliberately ignoring it. Here’s why. Have you ever heard of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury? Or the 2nd Earl of Liverpool? As they’ve been dead for years you probably haven’t. OK, let’s try someone more modern. Lord Young? He served in Margaret Thatcher’s government. No? OK, let’s try someone bang up to date. Lord Adonis? He was Transport Minister in the last Labour Government. He’s now head of the Infrastructure Commission.

So, what do they all have in common? None of them were elected. In office they were unelected members of the House of Lords. Not only that but two of them actually served as Prime Ministers! All of them have done the very thing that gives the Brexiteers an attack of the vapours – despite being unelected they were responsible for making laws. Plus, let’s face it, you can’t get more politically powerful in the UK than by becoming Prime Minister.

Nor are these coves unique. You might have heard of another one, he’s one of our most famous Prime Ministers. His name? Benjamin Disraeli.

Oh, another thing. Who invited Disraeli to be Prime Minister and form a Government? None other than Queen Victoria. Now, just who elected her?

The Brexit camp claims that the EU is undemocratic are baseless. In fact, as history shows, by their own definition, the EU is more democratic than the UK!

The Brexit debate is a depressing insight into humanity

20 Friday May 2016

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I’m on the train to London & finally found a spare moment to blog. Today’s chosen subject is the referendum on the UK staying in the European Union (or Brexit for short).

I’m unashamedly pro the UK staying in staying in and I’ve been voicing that opinion loudly on social media. Of course, that’s made me a target for the the Brexit camp – and what a depressing insight into humanity that is.

Social media has become the modern refuge for the old green ink brigade as it’s given them a voice they never had before. Most newspapers & magazines (unless they were desperately short of copy for the letters page) would normally spike the most extreme rants, deluded nonsense and Walter Mitty fantasies. Plus, they wouldn’t risk publishing the full fledged racism for fear of falling foul of the  law. In contrast, the internet is far more of a free for all, which is what appeals to these characters. What also attracts them in their droves  is Brexit. Why our membership of the European Union attracts such extremists would make an interesting study into the human psyche – because there’s plenty of material to study!

These people are easy to find because they find you! All you have to do is tweet something in support of remaining in the EU using a hashtag like #Brexit or #StrongerIn. Within minutes you’ll have some anonymous creature with a name like “nocash no dash”, “Una Discamus” or “Roddytherobot” (they’re all genuine examples by the way) bombarding you with paranoid nonsense and made-up ‘facts’ about the EU. I do wonder why if the Brexit argument is so strong these people have to hide behind fake identities and spend all their time lying. Here’s another (genuine) example.

Millar

An American ‘survivalist’?  God help us…

One thing they all seem to have in common is an unhealthy obsession with Hitler and Nazi Germany. The irony here is that they love to label the EU as a ‘fascist’ state & compare it to the third Reich. Of course, the EU is so ‘fascist’ and we’re so controlled by it that, err, we’re able to hold a referendum on leaving!

Apart from attracting those with an unhealthy obsession with fascism, Brexit also seems to attract the Walter Mittys. Here’s a prime example.

Haseler

This one bombarded a few of us with a stream of Tweets along these lines, so I spent a few minutes on Google and found this. As soon as I posted the link Haseler blocked the folk he’d been bombarding and ran away!

All this would be funny were it not for one thing. Many of these ‘characters’ will be real people and a lot of them will actually have a vote in the referendum. Paranoid nonsense, Walter Mitty fantasies or not – they could help propel us out of the EU and wreck the future of the UK. They don’t just exist on social media either. The other day I had a depressing ‘discussion’ with one such individual who’d swallowed all the newspaper garbage and genuinely believed Tony Blair had sold a UK warship to a secret EU navy (I know, I know – but try telling them..)

That is why I’m no fan of referendums – especially on complex issues such as membership of the EU. Our future could be decided on by the paranoid, the ignorant or the plain delusional!

This is why I’m appealing to all right-minded people to make damned sure they get out and vote in the referendum and leave nothing to chance. I’m also appealing to younger people (who are less likely to vote). After all, the future is yours – but you could find it’s set for you by a bunch of fearful old people who’re more likely to vote than you are, and once we’re out, there’s no going back…