We often hear about the will of the people, in relation to Brexit, but the statistics tell a different story. The majority of the UK electorate did not vote to leave the EU, only a minority of those who were entitled to vote did – around 38%.
Tag: Brexit
Brexit is a word which is made by combining the word “Britain,” with the word “exit” – exit in reference to the United Kingdom of Great Britain leaving the European Union (EU).
A brief guide to Brexit…
Brexit started after a referendum called by David Cameron in 2016, when the then Prime Minister thought he could deliver a “remain” victory. He was defeated, and resigned ignominiously, leaving the country in a mess.
Despite not having a plan, or any kind of idea, Cameron’s replacement as Prime Minister, Theresa May, enacted Article 50, which meant that the UK should leave the EU on 29 March 2019. She went on to reduce a Parliamentary majority in a monumentally ill-advised General Election, and somehow remained in power, despite seeing “her” Brexit deal defeated twice in the run up to the 29 March.
She also survived a vote of no confidence in early 2019, most likely because there was even less confidence in her likely successor, the Victorian mock-twerp (who is actually a very intelligent money making animal), Jacob Rees-Mogg, or the faux-buffoon (of a similar ilk) Boris Johnson.
However, as surely as the calendar predicted, June 2019 spelt the end of May, and she eventually at last resigned, as her predecessor, with a tearful goodbye in front of 10 Downing Street.
In the middle of June 2019, Britain still had no idea what it would do about Leaving the EU, and instead was considering the relative merits of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Rory Stewart and a succession of other ambitious individuals who were squabbling over Leadership of the Conservative Party and therefore the country.
Of course, the most baffling option would be seen as the most sensible, and Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in the summer of 2019 – after a postal vote of Conservative Party members elected him after the race had been whittled down to two by Conservative Members of Parliament.
In the run-up to the June 2016 EU Membership referendum, many in the “Vote Leave” camp had urged Britain to “Take Back Control” from “unelected foreign bureaucrats” – it is not clear how this aim was furthered by c.100,000 Conservative Party members deciding who would be Prime Minister.
Nevertheless, once selected for the hot seat, Boris proceeded to prorogue parliament in a move the Supreme Court would quite quickly declare “unlawful” before losing around 8 of his first votes in relation to Brexit.
BoJo, as he is unaffectionately known, is currently mussing up his own hair before doing a piece to camera insisting to someone, somewhere, that he wants Britain to Brexit on 31 October 2019.
Really, BoJo wants a General Election, but having pushed out a stack of Conservative MPs in September 2019, he is now in charge of a minority Government, and nobody wants a sip from the poisoned chalice he currently possesses.
There’s a dearth of leadership in Britain, as decades of bully-boy tactics become more apparent in today’s increasingly savvy and educated society. Rule by media control is not what it once was, what what?
Meanwhile, Brexit is still making Britain a laughing stock, globally. Even Piers Morgan agrees. When you find yourself in agreement with Morgan, there is obviously something very wrong going on.
The German word for “withdrawal agreement” is apparently Austrittsvertragsratifizierungsgesetzentwurf.
This is my favourite thing this week.
Gallows humour, while Britain’s parliament continues to hang.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, journalist Jon Snow (not the Game of Thrones character) has been manhandling mealy-mouthed politicians on national TV.
Brexit Yoga
It seems like the Irish and the Australians are enjoying Brexit a lot… well, a lot more than we here in Britain are!