I didn’t comment on the referendum last week but now it’s all done and dusted I’m going to say something. You may not like it but it’ll be good for you.
I have spent a lot of time in courtrooms over the years, often not in the dock, and it’s made me a firm defender of the jury system. 12 people chosen at random with different ages, jobs, education and means but by and large they produce sound verdicts. We are lucky enough to have fair trials and an ability to chose how we are governed. These privileges are rightly cherished. We accept that there will be winners and losers in an election – that, readers, is how it works. You know that so why, in a country where it used to be considered bad form to be a poor loser, are so many petulant people, almost always resident within the M25, or even more petulantly not even living in this country, throwing their ‘Remain’ stickers out of their prams?
Don’t you think it gives an unattractive picture of a country that professes to embrace democracy but only if their side wins? Or should I say, rather more accurately, this being Britain, their class?
Everyone’s a champagne socialist in London – we just don’t like the way that traditional Labour supporters don’t agree with us. We want open borders; haven’t we all got Polish builders and Ukrainian cleaning ladies? But handy Eastern Europeans are not really what immigration means to people in the real world, those in low paid jobs (like your cleaner) or people on zero hours contracts. I venture that I have had far more contact with immigrants than most people reading this and I can tell you that the way to stop the rise of the far right is to take the wind out of their sails and ensure that everyone who comes to this country is here legally, has a job waiting for them and understands that if they commit crimes they will be in line for a swift exit.
Pre-referendum we were all berating Mr Cameron, our ex-leader designate, for allowing multi-nationals to evade taxes but without pausing for breath decided he was completely right about Europe. We wept crocodile tears about Greece but were guided in our referendum choice by Goldman Sachs. Remind me, weren’t they involved somewhere along the line with Greece getting all those crippling loans?
Something else your ordinary British doesn’t care for is being threatened. We have a long history of standing up to bullies and any number of laws against it yet half the world felt able to heap all sorts of dire warnings of the Apocalyse that awaited us if we didn’t do as we were told. Britain staying in Europe clearly suited an awful lot of people, and a lot of awful people, but not the people who actually live here and try to bear in mind that their majority viewis the only one which matters. I was impressed that after decades of nanny state ninnies there is still enough backbone around to say ‘Thanks for your input but we think we’ll do it anyway’.
Only time will tell if the electorate is right but I would venture a tenner on Sweden or Denmark following us off the sinking ship fairly quickly.
If you believe in a democratic system then accept the result with just a bit of grace, even if you disagree. That’s all for today.