Brexit is about a lot of things, but one thing I agree with John Lloyd it is not (for the vast majority at least) is lost Empire. The sheer narrowness of the vote even in England ought to give some our more enthusiastic purveyors of this line some pause for thought.
During the week, John Lloyd, an unenthusiastic remain voter, laid out a more realistic view of the matter to Ivan Yates on Newstalk..
The interview came on foot of an oped which appeared in the Irish Examiner earlier in the week. It’s worth reading the whole thing, but one things jumped out at me as being a particularly well-observed truth:
Journalism, which lamented the blandness of politics, now has its wish for passion – and appears to hate it. These deeply consequential arguments, in both the UK and the U.S., appear to have remained – just about – within a non-violent frame.
They have not in France, where at least nine have died as protests spread across the country.
This is not bloody revolution – the violence, frightening as it is, has been largely confined to buildings and cars. Rather, what comes to the surface are elemental issues of politics: unemployment, inequality, marginalization, fear of the future.
These are issues which authoritarian states suppress with beatings, shootings and incarceration (see Venezuela for a hideous example). In democracies they must be heard and seen. [Emphasis added]
Only yesterday a friend told me of a conversation he’d had with a friend of his who works in a local, well-respected media institution. My friend asked, which outcome would he prefer, leave or remain. His friend responded, “oh definitely Brexit. It will be so much more interesting.”
Yeah, interesting, dangerous, chaotic. More focus on shedding light on the debate, and less on the heat of the distractions and we might be facing a better Brexit or a better idea of what reforms to bring forward to deal with the real issues that moved so many to vote for the first time.
As my friend Richard has noted of the must see Channel Four film Brexit: the uncivil war:
In the film, Cummings explains that “this is bigger than Brexit… Brexit is just a cypher.” In other words, it’s a way of tapping into the deep-seated powerlessness that so many of us feel. It has fed Trump, Five Star, Podemos, Bolsonaro and the Gilet Jaune.
Cummings was paying attention to a global phenomenon that has become a defining issue of our age, one with the potential to reshape nations across the world. And yet, for all the turmoil unleashed, there is little said about how we might make people feel more powerful.
For all the talk of the people this and the people that, this is the core problem that won’t go away no matter how Brexit works out. And no matter how many sacrificial goats we put on the fire. It shouldn’t have needed Brexit to tell it that.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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