Last Saturday (23rd June), I did something different; something I care
deeply about and something, which if not properly addressed, will have an
adverse effect on all of our lives for many years to come.
What I did was to walk down to Tonbridge station and jump on
a train up to London. I then walked
the short distance from Charing Cross station to Pall Mall, where I joined with
over 100,000 people who were waiting to start a protest march to Parliament, to
demand a “Peoples’ Vote” on any final Brexit deal.
The people I was marching with were from all walks of life
and all political persuasions. They were from all ages and different
backgrounds. All were united in their abhorrence at what has happened to our
once great country in the wake of David Cameron’s reckless referendum gamble.
It was fitting that the march took place exactly two years
since this ludicrous act of self-sabotage; two wasted years which have seen the
UK economy transformed from the fastest growing in the EU, to the slowest (behind even Greece and
Portugal). Two wasted years in which government time, money and resources could
have been spent solving the many problems which best our country, rather than
attempting to drive through a Brexit which, apart from certain cabinet
ministers, hedge-fund managers and media moguls, will make us all poorer.
The money which has already been wasted on Brexit could have
been spent on schools, hospitals and improving our crumbling infra-structure,
rather than on junkets for David Davis and trips abroad for Liam Fox; trips
trying to strike trade deals, many of which we already have through our
membership of the EU. None of these deals (if they even come off), will go
anywhere near enough to compensate what we will lose from cutting ourselves
adrift from our closest neighbours in the world’s largest trading block.
Economic madness, helped by a deeply-divided Conservative
Party, and an equally divided cabinet, more interested in political infighting,
than in trying to sort the country out. If ever there was a case of party
before country, this is it, and Her Majesty’s Opposition, in the form of
Comrade Corbyn’s Labour Party, are just as bad.
This was enough to unite Saturday’s impressive crowd and
incite them to march to Parliament Square, to demand that the people of this
country be given a final say on a deal which will affect us all for many years
to come.
No-one voted two years ago, to make themselves poorer.
Remain voters knew this, but the majority of those backing Leave, thought they
were voting for a better future; more money for the NHS, more jobs and,
worryingly, there was a racist element amongst them who wanted a complete end
to immigration – not realising that it is people from the EU, and elsewhere in
who work in our hospitals, our fields, and who contribute in many other ways to
the success of the UK economy.
Two years on from the referendum and the government still
have no idea as to what they want from Brexit. There have been the predictable
sound bites from the Prime Minister, about a “deep and meaningful” (remember
“strong & stable”?) relationship with our European partners and allies, but
nothing concrete.
What we do know is that against the advice of businesses,
both large and small, the Governor of the Bank of England, the CBI and the FTA,
Theresa May is insistent that we leave both the Single Market and the Customs
Union. In what way does that benefit business and the economy at large?
Britain
was instrumental in setting up the Single Market with its frictionless borders
and easy movement of good. Before the referendum, Brexiteers spoke of having a
“bonfire of EU red tape”; leaving the Customs Union will create far more red
tape than their deluded minds can possibly fathom.
This is why giving the people a vote on any final Brexit
deal is so vital. We obviously can’t trust Theresa May and her deeply divided cabinet to
deliver what is best for Britain,
as they are far more concerned with their own survival and that of their party.
So I would urge all readers to look out for, and sign the petition for a “Peoples’ Vote.”
