The Guardian reported this week that:
Zac Goldsmith, the former Conservative MP who is standing in a byelection having quit his Commons seat as a protest against the Heathrow airport expansion, warned that moves to block the UK's exit from the European Union could also lead to anger, saying it would provide a boon for the far right.
He told LBC radio: “If we were to overturn the outcome of the biggest democratic exercise we have ever had in this country — 17 million people — if we put our fingers up to them, if we turn our backs on them, or ignore them, I think we would see the emergence in this country of the kind of far right extreme movements that plague the continent, but fortunately do not plague this country.”
So what Goldsmith is saying is that we must act in accordance with the wishes of the far right out of fear of the far right or the far right might get angry and threaten to take power to ensure that we act in accordance with the far right's wishes.
In this context two things are apparent. The first is that Goldsmith thinks that any discussion of the future international relations of the UK, including the possibility that still exists after what was just an advisory referendum that the best option for those relationships might exist within the EU, is unacceptable.
The second is that Goldsmith sees his interests and those of the far right as being similar.
The consequence is clearly that Goldsmith, who ran what many think was a profoundly racist campaign to be Mayor of London, is suggesting that no one should have the temerity to challenge the opinion of the right or the right will impose its will, like it or not.
You should feel threatened, because you are being threatened. Goldsmith is saying freedom of speech is no longer acceptable.
Goldsmith is wrong. And we have to say so.
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you might like this http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/opinion/who-broke-politics.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fpaul-krugman&action=click&contentCollection=opinion®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection
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Good grief. Goldsmith is saying in his complicated way that we should act on the wishes of the public to leave the EU.
There are indeed some nasty people on the edge of the spectrum of nationalism and nativism, and one good outcome of this week is that for now they will focus their hate on lawyers who can defend themselves, and less so on people migrating to do honest labour. I’ll settle for that.
I do not agree that this is what Goldsmith is saying
If he was he could have said that
Oh I feel threatened alright and what you say is a fair synopsis of what he was really saying.
Meanwhile I hope we all saw this – it gladdened my heart and showed that despite all the media bullying to be proud BREXITEERS amazing things like this can still happen that show many of us still think for ourselves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwsQ_5Wm4oo
Vive la revolution!!
I had
I might need to post it though
That has made my week.
Didnt know the beeb still had it in them, I bet Laura Juliet Kuenssberg will have a thing or two to say to ’em
Meanwhile back on topic, I am one of the 16.1 million people who actively wanted to remain in the EU, and have had my more than my fair share of “The Finger” from the other side.
13 million people did not vote at the referendum for various reasons, 2 of which are, “Didnt vote because I never believed it would happen”(Farage is said to have believed that himself)and ” I thought the referendum was a travesty of democracy, a cheap Cameron trick and I didnt vote in protest”
I know people in both of those camps
It would only have taken 10% of those non voters to make the referendum a draw, thats how close it was.
The entire UK political circus has now lined itself up with “Doing what the public wants”, and myself and 16.1 million others can be democratically ignored
Angry?
You can bank on it, and threats from Zac Goldsmith do not go down too well at any time of day.
We never were off topic. It was about speaking out wasn’t it? And the BBC2 reposte to the rabidly nationalist Tory was creative and even humorous. It made a point.
And we need more of it. Let’s hope we get it.
34% of the voting age population voted to leave. 64 % did not vote to leave. I would hardly call that the will of the people.
34% of the voting age population voted to leave. 66 % did not vote to leave. I would hardly call that the will of the people.
Speaking of anger: there are 1.6 million UK citizens in the EU. In the event of a hard brexit I wonder how happy they will be being forcibly repatriated to the UK? I suspect them some may be inclined to express their unhappiness “directly”. For those that say “it will never come to that” – given a total lack of any plan (coherent or otherwise) from what passes for a UK gov I’d not be so sure. I recently re-read Tom Hollands “Rubicon” – most interesting with respect to Ceasars murderers – they did not have a clue what to do after the act – zero, no plan, nothing – they thought that the republic whould somehow spring back into fully functioning life – fully formed – following the civil war. Same with the Brexiters & their empty slogans: “Take back control” & just like Brutus et al – they don’t have a clue. Bravo.
[…] Source: We have a duty to speak out precisely because the far right don’t want us to do so […]
Good points well made – let us hope that the good folk of Richmond are sensible enough to give Mr Goldsmith the treatment he deserves in the upcoming byelection.
“17 million people — if we put our fingers up to them, if we turn our backs on them, or ignore them…”
17 million people voted for some form of Brexit. The precise type (or whether they all really wanted it at all) is not clear.
Pursuing the type of Brexit that the government appears to be doing is much more than just putting fingers up at the 16m that voted to remain (and it was perfectly clear what these 16m wanted!).
#theforgotten16m