It is a real shame that the people most detrimentally impacted by Brexit are the same ones erroneously supporting it for the very wrong reasons! And the people least impacted by immigration are the ones whipped into a frenzy and made to believe it is the source of every evil!
A right shame indeed!
After years and years of watching the bureaucratic drama that is the EU, and hundreds of unelected bureaucrats turning each and every aspect of life within the EU into a needlessly messy, complicated mountain to bureaucracy, seemingly attempting to strip member states of every ounce of self-determination (and I use the word “seemingly” as that is indeed not the intention of the EU, it just feels that way, as the paper-pushers have made it so, albeit, unintentionally) while centralising every minute decision, which is not the way Brits like to live our life, it simply got too much for many Brits and they had had enough of the EU. But had they had all the true facts presented to them, no Brit would chose to exit the EU, if it meant their children could go hungry and conditions worsen in the most deprived parts of the country. There were talks of hard Brexits and soft Brexits etc. Leaving the EU should have been in stages, to test the impact first, then re-consult (could even be another referendum after the first stage) to ensure Brits have a chance to decide how much hardship is worth it, just to get away from a bureaucratic organisation. Even if taking the full impact in one blast, is the most expedient option, the impact – that few could accurately predict as it was simply not known as nobody had quit the EU before now – needed to have been fully understood and mitigated, but the EU was unlikely to sit about for us to figure all that out, given the way Brexit unfolded. There are faults on all sides. Brexit should never have descended into such acrimony. If the EU believe what they have is a good thing, then they should have just laughed off Britain’s decision to leave and said good riddance. Instead, they wanted to make an example of us, in order to deter others from leaving. As for Brits, if a majority of the country (and it was a very slight majority, which should not have been an acceptable margin to embark on such a critical move) had had enough of the EU and the bureaucracy, past governments should have listened to the growing concerns are forced the EU to pay attention 15, 20 years ago, to ease-up on dictating the type of light bulbs people can use within the EU and the ridiculous level of detail to which they were seeking to impact or dictate everyday life in member countries! (which is what grates with many Brits). Instead, past UK governments treated dissenters with disdain and we saw them as a tiny minority with unfounded anti-EU sentiments. Well, that minority grew to a majority – thin or not – and shocked the establishment with the outcome of the Brexit referendum, whether or not there was a number of falsehood peddled by some.
Rejoining the EU cannot possibly be an option at this point in time. It will be too problematic. Explaining the real impact of Brexit without trying to say “told you so!” is what is needed. Nobody knew the full impact – not even those that opposed Brexit. Either way, neither side bothered to apply diplomacy. It appeared to be more about who’s right. At this point in time, what needs to be made clear, is what’s attributable to Brexit, Covid, war in Ukraine etc. And then, finding a way forward. The ill-conceived notion that the poor work harder than the rich and as such, deserve better, is a fallacy. Elon Musk working odd hours is not to be discounted because he is the world’s richest man. He may well be working out of choice and in a comfortable office compared to a toilet cleaner, but work is work!
The reality of Brexit is that the low-income folk clamouring for it, are the very ones facing the hardship that it brings and yet, fail to realise that. The people who sold Brexit to them (Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and co) will always be able to feed their children…
The situation with immigration and illegal entry into the UK via the English Channel is not hugely dissimilar. It needs explaining. Needs honesty. The present and past government and/or politicians who repeatedly used this topic to win votes should not have done so, as it has simply made the situation toxic. Honest action is what’s required and was required. Demonising human beings is never a way forward. The reality is that nobody could deliver what was being promised, because there were rules that could not and humanely should not be contravened e.g. you can’t go and upend the rubber boats and leave illegal migrants to drown. All the time spent making empty promises should have been spent making housing available to British people who require it and benefits, so that when it came to helping to settle migrants – once processed – people won’t hate on them. Technology and coordination with France is the only way to end the channel crossings, not empty promises – as we have now finally realised. Years wasted creating a ‘hostile environment’ supposedly to deter illegal migrants have been an absolute waste of time and resources and has totally backfired, with the hostility created now being visited on each other. The topic has become so toxic that there were some people celebrating the drowning of human beings trying to cross the channel – we (Brits) never used to be so uncaring! People can loath illegal migration all they want, but you have to draw a line, when the body of a children washes on shore! It is simply not human to wish that on any parent!
The reality is very simple. We must end illegal entry by using technology and other humane means; fast processing etc. End wars and displacement of people. But above all else, change the toxic rhetoric! Our economy is suffering and struggling right now due to lack of migrants with many of the skills we simply haven’t got. That is being mixed up in the Brexit and illegal migration mess and toxic rhetoric. We also need to do more – a great deal more – for low income earners in Britain and Brits who are presently struggling to make ends meet. In return, Brits need to turn back to reality and turn our back on dishonest, hateful rhetoric: the 60,000 Albanians or Syrians or whoever, rocking up in boats across the English Channel are not the reason we have failed repeatedly over the years to build more council housing or to maintain (mould everywhere!) existing housing, create jobs for underprivileged and sort out a number of issues such as knife crimes, other crime, anti-social behaviour etc. We have dropped the ball in many areas and sousing these unfortunate illegal migrants as the all-encompassing excuse is just not right nor decent!
We can fix it. We just need honesty and a stop to hateful rhetoric used to mask inefficiency
Knowledge can improve the world we live in 