IN-DEPTH Interview with Brexit Party parliamentary candidate Dawn Westcott

Unity News Network – Questions from Oliver Down UNN’s current affairs correspondent. 

Thank you to Dawn Westcott for taking the time to sit down with us. 

I will let you introduce yourself, Dawn. Tell us a little bit about yourself? 

I’m the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate with The Brexit Party for North Devon and will contest the constituency in the next general election, standing against incumbent, Peter Heaton-Jones MP. I’m an author with a background in London magazine publishing, and co-founder of the Exmoor Pony Project with my husband Nick. We farm on Exmoor, where his family has lived and farmed for over 500 years. 

As the Brexit party is a baby in political terms. Have you held any previous political allegiances?
Yes, I have previously been a member of the Conservative & Unionist Party. But the handling of Brexit and continued ‘in-fighting’ has caused me to feel that The Brexit Party is needed. Not only to unite people across the political, racial and social spectrums and bring pressure to bear to ensure a successful Brexit is achieved, but to reform the British political system.

What is your view of the current impasse in Parliament and if elected what would you do differently?
Too many politicians seem to have forgotten that it’s the people they serve, not themselves. They are elected to represent the views of their constituents, not work against them. We’re seeing MPs, who were elected on a clear mandate to action the 2016 referendum, doing blatant U-Turns and working to stop Brexit. This is shaking the pillars of our democracy and risks setting a very dangerous precedent where people feel their votes no longer count. There appears to be an eye-watering ‘detach’ between some of the politicians and the people, resulting in a political system where trust is broken. 

The fury out there in the regions regarding the behaviour of politicians is palpable and people want change. If it hadn’t been for The Brexit Party I suspect we’d now be signed up to an appalling, disempowering ‘exit’ deal, or witnessing democracy shattered through being forced to vote again ‘until we give the right answer’. By standing up to challenge these politicians and the duplicity of process, The Brexit Party has already had positive impact and given despairing people hope – but we clearly need to do much more. That means getting Brexit Party MPs elected and starting to facilitate the political reform this country needs to get back on its feet and realise the enormous potential that Brexit offers us. 
The current two party system is floundering in polarised in-fighting, while radiating massive disrespect to the voters. This must be challenged, not just to overcome the impasse and progress forwards, but to safeguard democracy itself. It all boils down to one very simple concept – it’s the people who decide how this country is run. Sovereignty lies with the people. The 2016 referendum represented the largest turnout in our voting  history, and yet here we are failing to deliver the result and with large numbers of MPs conspiring to overturn it. 

If I’m elected, I’ll be listening to and building trust with the constituents in North Devon and ensuring their voices are heard in Westminster. If all MPs do the same, we can build the successful post-Brexit United Kingdom that people want. Whether people voted to remain or leave, surely everyone wants this country to be the best it can be? With our system of democracy, we now all need to get behind the decision to leave – and make the best of it.

That is brilliant thanks Dawn. If you had to give 3 reasons for wanting Britain to exit the EU what would they be?

1. To protect our sovereignty and democracy. While we are naturally globally-outward-thinking people, we also value our freedom and independence.
2. To retain self-governance and control of our laws, borders and defences. We didn’t get this far to hand the United Kingdom over into the control of a foreign ‘superstate’ where the vote of the individual risks steadily diminishing until barely relevant and the threats to our economic security are enormous. The United Kingdom is not ours to give away. 
3. There are great opportunities for the United Kingdom post-Brexit. While it’s inevitable there will be some kind of rocky transition period, what lies beyond that will strengthen and enrich this country immeasurably and I want us to take full advantage of that, with the right people in place to lead us positively forwards. 

What would the United Kingdom’s optimal Brexit deal look like for you?

The right team of leaders and negotiators who understand the intricacies of balancing market forces with security, safety and welfare, empowered to strike suitable deals globally. Of which European countries form an important part. Moving forwards with confidence, cleverness and assertiveness. Doing what we do brilliantly – trading, creating, facilitating, negotiating, protecting. We’ve all seen where a ‘can’t do attitude’ gets us – I can’t wait to see where a ‘can do’ attitude gets us. We have 70 million consumers and people want to trade and connect with us. Dealing with the UK is a win-win situation on so many levels. Let’s put the people in place who can shape the best deal for the UK with the shackles off. So the optimal Brexit deal for me would be one which allows the freedom to achieve this – taking nothing off the table and moving forwards boldly. 

Should Britain move to a no deal outcome we would be on WTO terms. People say the EU is undemocratic, but why is the WTO any better? 

Well the fundamental difference is that the WTO doesn’t threaten our sovereignty, democracy, self-governance, laws and defences. It exists to endeavour to facilitate fair and successful global trading. That said, this is a time of change, where the UK can reasonably challenge the status quo and lobby to ensure that the WTO works effectively for everyone. Regarding a ‘no deal outcome’ – there’s no such thing. There are already myriad agreements in place. Market forces tend to ultimately dictate terms and with the right leadership and negotiation, we can agree mutually beneficial trading and safeguard UK businesses and consumers. What we’ve suffered from is having too many ‘can’t do/won’t do’ people in decision-making roles. This doesn’t work in business or politics – success depends on getting the right teams together. If we’re honest, the UK has been poor at doing that over these last years. The British people are waking up to that and taking a keener interest in who they’re voting for. We need better, we deserve better and we’re going to get better. 

We’ve seen in recent by-elections a form of remain alliance has been formed. Would you back such moves on the Brexit side?

Well a kind of longish and local answer for this one! There does appear to be a sinister alliance of authoritarian, anti-democratic forces that want to obstruct the democratic will of the British people. This sees us sailing into dangerous waters where people who are openly prepared to ignore the democratic vote and enforce their will on the British public, may well get into power. 

The destruction of UK democracy must be fought against at all costs. So I wouldn’t rule out collaboration on the Brexit side. Brexiteers are a group of people united in our belief in our country and our democracy, who are prepared to do what’s best for the country going forwards. Which means that we’ll stand up and stand back, as is necessary. It’s an evolving situation.

In North Devon, the people voted decisively to leave the EU (57%) and have long tended towards being eurosceptic. They now face a Liberal Democrat party standing on a clear manifesto to ‘Stop Brexit’ which is no longer listening to the people of North Devon or representing their choices. The incumbent Conservative & Unionist Party MP voted to remain and has since continued to vote for the appalling disempowering Withdrawal Agreement. Again, not listening to the will of the people of North Devon to leave the EU. These kind of ‘anomalies’ with regard to politicians listening to constituents (or not) and representing their voices in UK Parliament (or not) is occurring across the UK. This is why Brexit Party candidates are standing up across the nation to challenge it. And Brexiteers in the other parties are doing the same. 

How that is used most effectively with regard to seeing off the threat of a potential authoritarian, anti-democratic government in the next General Election, remains to be seen. I’m happy to do what’s best for the country and for our democracy. I hope the people of North Devon will stand up and speak loudly to ensure their views are heard too.

Finally, remain MPs are talking about a ‘Unity Government’ to take over and stop No Deal Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn wants to lead it and Ken Clarke and Harriet Harman have also said they’ll lead it. What are your thoughts on that? 

It’s hard to comprehend how MPs can act to blatantly obstruct the democratic will of the people in attempting to stop Brexit. So much time has been wasted and unnecessary damage caused to the fabric of our society through the conflict, duplicity and obstructions of various politicians to thwart the process. It’s clear that people who believe in this country, and value our democracy, sovereignty and self-governance, are running out of patience and if I was an MP, I’d be keenly listening to them. As someone said this week, these ideas of a ‘Unity Government’ (or rather, a government of remainers) aren’t half-baked – they’ve not even seen an oven. Politicians serve the people – and the people voted decisively to leave the EU. That needs to happen by 31 October 2019 – deal or no deal, as promised. 
I’m sure everyone would prefer a decent deal, including the countries of Europe that do business with the UK. But if the EU refuses to ‘blink’ then the consequence is leaving on WTO and negotiating once the inevitable pressure of European market forces is brought to bear on the uncompromising EU. This is the time to unite behind Boris Johnson as he tries to deliver Brexit properly, not form a ‘Unity Government’ to mess it up – again. Any MP working against the efforts of Boris Johnson to achieve Brexit at this critical time should consider their positions – and remember that a General Election is looming. 

Thank you very much for your time Dawn and best of luck with your candidacy. We look forward to you coming on LIVE with us in the next couple of weeks!

Interview conducted by Oliver Down.

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