The UK is stuck in a Brexit PARALYSIS-Where do we go next?

Britain is currently in a state of Brexit paralysis; a Prime Minister has resigned after a failure to enact her version of Brexit. However, many are of the opinion that the seeds were sowed for Britain to exit the European Union as far back as a decade. This could be attributed to the way in which the Labour Party dealt with the Lisbon Treaty when Britain along with the other EU nations in 2007.

Ever closer Union in Europe has been a controversial concept since its creation. In a similar way to 2016 in 1975 Britain held a referendum on Britain’s membership of the forbearer of the EU the European Economic Community. The result was emphatic with remain winning by over 2:1. However, in an emphasis of population growth in 1975 17,378,581 people voted to stay which is less than the 17.4 million people that voted to leave in 2016 in a 52-48 split.  

Following this, there were several treaties which changed the relationships across the continent. However, it was the Lisbon Treaty in 2007 in particular which caused a large amount of public outcry. This was remembered by large amounts of the population when voting in 2016. The outcry was so much that the following Coalition Government passed the European Union Act 2011, which ensured a referendum before passing any treaty’s that removed any more powers from Britain to the European Union.

The pressure was so high that David Cameron announced a referendum in 2013 mostly to stave off the threat of Nigel Farage’s UKIP. Mr Cameron read the mood of the electorate as well as his successor Theresa May in 2017.

Mark Francois MP suggested shortly after the 2016 referendum that “I recall in the midst of all the arguments over Lisbon having lunch with two senior diplomats from two large European countries – who seemed very satisfied with the Treaty’s progress (and indeed with themselves). In the end, I protested “You may think you’re being very clever with avoiding a referendum but in the long run this won’t benefit you. All this will do is stir up a further sense of frustration and resentment in this country towards the EU.” Mr Francois was absolutely correct in his assessment.

We also have the Robin Tilbrook case currently making its way through the courts. Could we see a spectacular result where it is declared that we actually left the EU on the 29th of March with a WTO Brexit? It would certainly be a true David vs Goliath moment but the more pressing concern is the abject lack of coverage by the mainstream media on what is surely a matter for the public interest.

The runners and riders for the Conservative Party leadership are setting out their stalls with Boris Johnson leading the way with the bookies, MPs and grassroots Tories. As the Peterborough by-election showed The Brexit Party is capable of taking votes away from the Tories resulting in a Labour win. If this result was replicated at a UK wide level then Jeremy Corbyn would be the next Prime Minister.

Nigel Farage has intimated that he is prepared to go all the way to force a full WTO Brexit and if the Tories don’t play ball he will oversee their destruction. If the Tories do not deliver Brexit then all bets are well and truly off.

Oliver Down

Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!

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