Up The Wall

brexit globalisation

If a tragedy is watching disaster unfold and being powerless to stop it, then such is Brexit — a conundrum wrapped in an enigma as the saying goes.

The UK parliament has voted on eight alternatives to the prime minister’s deal after voting it down.  These have all failed to get a majority.  They have voted twice more on the PM’s deal without success, and they have voted against a no-deal exit.

Why should we worry?  Not just for the numerous small personal tragedies to follow as working (even retired) lives are disrupted, but also because the UK being the world’s fifth largest economy, its pain will be felt elsewhere if only as a hiccup.  In the late stages of an economic growth cycle, a hiccup might be all that is necessary for a downturn.

The prime minister’s mind remains fixed as she proposes to seek a fourth vote on her deal.  She has written to European Council President Donald Tusk requesting an extension to June 30.  Perhaps she might tweak her deal a bit for she is also talking to Jeremy Corbyn the Labor opposition leader whose party would prefer to remain in a custom’s union.  The option could finesse the thorniest issue, namely, the north-south border in Ireland.

It is well to recall that Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain, also London and the Southeast of England.  Moreover, the Irish have become accustomed to border-free travel and are unlikely to accept any customs posts or passport checks.

The country was evenly divided in the 2016 referendum when 51.8 percent voted to leave versus 48.1 percent.  Of the 46.5  million electorate, the turnout was 72.2 percent.  Worth noting, the Scots voted 62 to 38 percent to remain as did Northern Ireland.  A close vote then and Mrs. May has behaved as if ‘leave’ won by a landslide.  She has ignored the wishes of almost half the electorate choosing to remain in the EU, instead of probing further to find some kind of acceptable accommodation.

A story this week surfaced in another essay on the subject.  It happens that a German general classified officers into four categories:  clever and lazy, clever and industrious, stupid and lazy, and stupid and industrious.  He said he promoted the clever and lazy to the top because he could count on them to make the right decisions and then not interfere with those carrying them out.  The clever and industrious were made their deputies to ensure the work got done.  The stupid and lazy were sent to the front.  The stupid and industrious he considered a menace, who had to be removed from the army as soon as possible.

It is not too difficult to discern Mrs. May’s category.  The trouble is no one in her party appears to want her job at present.

In a category of his own, Mrs. May’s colleague on the other side of the Atlantic was busy with his wall at the U.S.–Mexico border.  Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen declared a national emergency because of the sharp uptick of migrants at the southern border.  President Donald Trump echoed her, saying, ‘our country is full.  Turn around. … When it’s full, there’s nothing you can do.  You have to say, I’m sorry we can’t take you.”

Meanwhile, the Democrats who control the House have filed a lawsuit against the administration over Trump’s national emergency declaration to obtain the $8 billion funding for the wall.

Both sides of the Atlantic, walls seem to be in vogue.

Dr Arshad M Khan (http://ofthisandthat.org/index.html) is a former Professor based in the U.S. whose comments over several decades have appeared in a wide-ranging array of print and internet media.  His work has been quoted in the U.S. Congress and published in the Congressional Record.

Tags:

Support Countercurrents

Countercurrents is answerable only to our readers. Support honest journalism because we have no PLANET B.
Become a Patron at Patreon

Join Our Newsletter

GET COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWSLETTER STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Join our WhatsApp and Telegram Channels

Get CounterCurrents updates on our WhatsApp and Telegram Channels

Related Posts

The Schadenfreude of Brexit

Decades ago, a German word entered the English language. The word was Schadenfreude. Schadenfreude is the experience of pleasure, joy, and self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the…

Fish Wars and Brexit

Warring over fish in the twenty-first century might seem an unlikely proposition.  But the deployment of four Royal Navy ships to deter European fishing vessels from encroaching on British waters…

Brexit, History & Ballot Choice

In a mistaken version of Trump’s catch-cry “Make America Great Again” Make America Great Again, some British voters might have been led to believe that Brexit will Make Britain Great…

Join Our Newsletter


Annual Subscription

Join Countercurrents Annual Fund Raising Campaign and help us

Latest News