A certain air of inevitability hangs over politics this morning.
It was certain that if Labour fence-sat forever people would notice.
It was certain that if the Tories presented No Deal Brexit as a good thing but in their hearts most knew it was not then they would tear their party apart.
It was certain the protest parties would gain as a result.
The LibDems are doing so. I hope support for nationalists and the Greens hardens up too.
And then there is Farage. He may have killed UKIP, but the consequence is little better. A party so in the lead with no manifesto is unambiguously bad news for democracy.
As is apparent, clarity of messaging is key to voter appeal. Labour has lost it. The Tories have seemingly given up trying. The LibDems ‘Bollocks to Brexit' looks like a master-stroke in the circumstances.
But Farage is just about Farage. He remains a loser, a coward, and the man who has always walked away when responsibility beckoned. I suspect he will again.
I worry greatly.
I hope the Remain vote comes out in force this week.
I hope it votes for unambiguously Remain parties for wholly rational reasons: on any known logic only Remaining makes any sense for this country.
I hope people vote tactically.
I hope that the message to Labour and Tories alike is unambiguous.
But, and this is the big but, there is nothing inevitable about what happens next. And holding Farage to account, keeping democracy alive and maintaining choice, is going to be hard. The coming week is but a skirmish. I hope no more will be necessary to hold the threat to democracy at bay. But unaccountable cult politics is now present in the UK, and that is profoundly worrying.
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Nature abhors a vacuum.
And Labour has created quite a few of those since 1997 I’m afraid by being so tepid. All it has done in the case of BREXIT is sat on the fence and allowed demagogues and extremists to fill the void. In the early 2000’s it allowed the finance sector to increasingly regulate itself and look what happened?
The whole party needs to face up to this lack of faith that it has demonstrated in itself and its loyal supporters (or ex-supporters) like me.
A lack of faith may also be translated into a lack of courage. Pity poor Labour and pity us.
While Conservative MPs, councillors and members might well see short-term political advantage in supporting Brexit, is there really a majority of those solid, practical, business-minded, law-upholding people for permanently leaving the EU with all of its trading, travel and security benefits?
Has the anti-democratic, secret and misleading advertising that Carole Cadwalladr describes so convincingly (https://www.ted.com/talks/carole_cadwalladr_facebook_s_role_in_brexit_and_the_threat_to_democracy), persuaded more than half of them to abandon their traditional thinking? Do they want to risk our customary democracy protected by laws and traditions that has been built over centuries?
And surely they care as much as anyone about the climate and environmental threats elucidated so clearly by David Attenborough (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47988337) – and that working within the EU to address these issues looks a better bet than ploughing our own furrow.
That furrow will be even narrower if Scotland separates itself – which looks far more likely if Brexit happens. And the furrow could then be narrower still: “Mary Lou McDonald … a Dublin woman with no involvement in the conflict … ended her first speech as the leader of Sinn Féin … calling for a border poll, claiming a referendum on a united Ireland is inevitable in the case of a no-deal Brexit” (https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/brexit/2019/02/united-ireland-now-looks-increasing-possibility).
I was at the NE Hustings in Newcastle Uni Friday evening. Six of the seven parties contesting the constituency turned up. The Brexit Party did not. I suspect they did not want to appear outside a carefully choreographed arena. It was a very Remain audience but even the UKIP candidate was given a polite hearing – he was very weak almost as if he had been in a coma over the past three years.
Regarding the Brexit party, if it looks like fascism and smells like fascism it is fascism.
NI has had two Unionist and one Nationalist MEP for every EP election since 1979, but the polls are in agreement that it will be either two Nationalist and one Unionist or one each of Nationalist, Unionist and cross-community (Alliance). The UUP which is the more middle class business friendly unionist party supports Brexit. Many of its supporters were Remain and will switch to Alliance. My money would be on Alliance.
If there is a No-Deal Brexit there is almost certainly a majority for a United Ireland, but I am getting mixed feelings from Dublin. There is a belief it is too early and that the North needs more time to heal. It is still very scarred from the troubles. There may well be a vehemently anti United Ireland Loyalist community. The Northern Ireland economy is also very poor apart from central Belfast and will need massive investment – but I’m sure that can be overcome.
I hear the time to heal message from those I am talking to in Ireland
Was disappointed to receive a Lib Dem leaflet yesterday which didn’t have the Bollocks to Brexit message on it (it did have #StopBrexit in rather small letters). I don’t know if this happened because they are afraid of frightening middle england with rude words, or was perhaps a local decision rather than one from the national party. Or perhaps there’s a law about swearing in election leaflets? However I think it was a mistake – I would have had that message right across the middle.
I’ve resigned from the Labour party and may even rejoin the Lib Dems, which I thought was unthinkable.
I have voted for them.
I am sad – I liked Corbyn but he’s useless.
No opposition party should have lost seats in the last local elections.
Try the Greens instead- far superior to the Lib Dems and a very socialist approach to many things.
You are absolutely right, Mr Murphy. These are incredibly scary times. As soon as Reason leaves the stage, I get scared. You can’t reason with these Farage folks, can you?
Sometimes it’s said that things have to get worse before they get better, but there is a limit. I do hope we reach that limit before Thursday, and that we finally see things turning toward change for the better after the result is in.
My vote is for the SNP. Excellent candidates lined up, and an unswerving dedication to remaining in the EU.
If I were in England, I would vote Lib Dem …or Green, depending on which of the two parties was most likely to achieve success. I would prefer it to be the Green Party, but if it looks as if the Lib Dems are leading the Anti-Brexiters, they’d get my vote.
The best choice varies by region according to the Remain Voter website
In my area it is Green
This is an excellent video by Mike Galsworthy and Remain Voter explaining clearly the De Hondt method and how they’ve reached their tactical recommendations. I confess that despite being reasonably well informed I hadn’t fully understood the implications for voting tactically under this sytem. Should be shared widely!!
https://www.facebook.com/scientistsforeu/videos/1454252711379393/UzpfSTEwMDAwMTgxNDI5NDYwNToyNjQ3NjQ1OTgxOTcyNTE5/
I will try to post that
Firstly I voted remain, I was devastated when the first referen’dum’ votes started to come in.
I’m really lost how can this be solved without having to respect that damned vote, honestly! treating so many people who voted leave as idiots who didn’t understand what they voted for by saying look you now know how it’s going to hurt us so let’s have another vote and you can put it right. If so many now know they got it wrong why is that thing Farage leading the polls? Yes the Co austerity Lib Dems are polling high as a remain vote why aren’t they the ones leading the polls?? I just can’t see how we can just say look you lot who voted leave your bloody clueless tough we’re cancelling Article 50, the far right would surge come a GE they’ll be taking seats in the HOC even in reasonably smallish numbers I shudder at the thought. In some towns and cities, they’ll gain traction all powered by Farage and his anon backers
I am also a Labour voter normally, but will be voting either Green (preferred), or if I don’t think they will get enough votes, Lib Dem.
Check out the Remain Voter website, I suggest