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We are in a parallel universe. It’s the 23rd of May 2019, and the polls are open for the EU elections. These elections were never supposed to happen, right? Nigel Farage formed his new ‘Brexit Party’ less than a month ago and is set to romp to victory, with Anne Widdecombe and Annunziata Rees-Mogg as his primary candidates. The tip of the iceberg for me is following Dan Hodges ferriferous ridicule of the similarly junior Change UK party, he voted for them! Need I go on? I need a lie down.
However, the real question is how has Britain got to this point? People will evidently point to the Conservative government, if you can call them that, and their shambolic handling of a Brexit process they almost seem intent on blowing apart. Theresa May and her ministers (if they haven’t resigned yet) would point to an unwillingness in Parliament to vote for her deal on three occasions, in addition to no consensus in two rounds of indicative votes that took place. However, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, given the fact the parliamentary arithmetic is so precarious especially without the DUP lending their support to this deal.
Despite considerable criticism, the root cause of this do not lie in the Theresa May’s recent deficiencies. A key symptom of the current political climate is a clear mistrust of the elites and the establishment. This is taking many forms, from a mistrust of the BBC and the mainstream media, to a mistrust in our MP’s of whom 96% are middle class and EU beurocrats, to finally a mistrust of the banking system over 10 years after the crash.
Firstly, it should be noted that these issues are certainly intertwined, in their effects. Given Gordon ‘Prudence’ Browns input in the lead up to this week’s elections it would only seem fair to give him a mention. Mr Browns decision in 1997 in his role as the chancellor of the exchequer to give the unelected bank of England control over the setting of interest rates and the creation of money was a scandalous abdication of responsibility. After this abdication, the city of London was not policed in an efficient way, which allowed them to take risks, which ultimately backfired. The Bank of England’s decision after the crash, to cut interest rates and create cheap money ultimately benefits those who own assets. In other words, it further widened the gap between rich and poor.
A study by the European Broadcasting Union concluded that the UK has by far the least trusted written media with a net trust score of minus 51. There are even calls from Nigel Farage, as well as Gerard Batten of UKIP to scrap the BBC licence fee. These calls have come amid suggestions of left-wing bias. A one-time staple of British politics ‘Question time’ has become a remain takeover show with an often 4-1 split in favour of remain. In addition to this, the less said about Andrew Marrs treatment of Nigel Farage on his recent show the better. As well as the Sunday before the EU elections there was not one leave voice on the show.
Assuming the Brexit party do romp the EU elections as expected, where does that leave the two-party system. The nation will have its eyes on the upcoming by-election in Peterborough on the 6th of June, in which the Brexit Party are throwing serious resources at getting their first MP in the commons. If this is successful a shockwave will be sent across British politics. Will more follow?
Opinions from the Unity News Network (UNN) editorial team & various contributors. | UNN always clearly distinguishes between news and opinion pieces and as an open minded outlet we publish views from a variety of people and organisation that do not necessarily reflect the views of UNN or its writers. Articles published under UNN Opinions are always opinion pieces and if published on behalf of a contributor will contain that authors name at the start of the piece.
