For those of us watching the Brexit saga unfold, one thing has become clear: the main Brexit campaigners are not only clueless. They are irresponsible. Instead of trying to solve the problems they created, all they do is abandon ship and thus continue to behave irresponsibly.
1) Calling the referendum was in itself irresponsible.
2) The campaign leading to the referendum was irresponsible and based on lies, scaremongering and racist claims.
3) Once the politicians realised that the damage was done (and more damage will be done once/if article 50 is triggered), they made the very irresponsible decision to quit.
Shortly after the final results became known, David Cameron resigned as PM and Tory leader. Then Boris Johnson announced that he would not take part in the Tory leadership race and thus would not become the new PM. This was followed by another shocking announcement, this time by Nigel Farage himself, of his resignation as UKIP (UK Independence Party) leader. Mr Farage said he wanted his life back, while the Remain voters want the EU back. I will not repeat the tweet by British singer Charlotte Church because it is rather rude, but you can look it up yourselves.
I was wrong in my last post, however. Nigel Farage did not speak for the last time in the European Parliament. He still intends to "comment from time to time". Although he no longer wants to lead UKIP, Mr Farage will remain an MEP, or Member of the European Parliament, and of course keep his salary until the UK officially leaves the EU.
Still, you never know, Nigel Farage may change his mind. He'd already announced his resignation in May 2015, only to backtrack a few days
later.
The three quitters have quite rightly been described as "rats fleeing a sinking ship" by a former Belgian Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, thousands of people marched through London last weekend to protest against the referendum decision to leave the EU. With the majority of young people in Britain extremely disappointed, if not devastated, by the results of the referendum, some EU countries are considering offering dual nationality to young British citizens living in Germany, Italy or France. However, that does not solve the problem for those remaining in Britain or those who are still too young to leave. Not to mention the EU nationals currently living, studying and/or working in the UK.
This week, a motion in the House of
Commons calling on the government to guarantee the rights of EU
nationals living in the UK was passed, but it it is not binding. The UK government claims it would be a mistake to give guarantees to EU nationals in
the UK without similar concessions for UK nationals living elsewhere in
the EU.
And just in case you were wondering whether things might be improving in the business world, the Pound sterling this week fell to a new 31-year low against the dollar.
Amongst all the uncertainty of recent weeks, clarity is emerging as to who will be the next British Prime Minister. It will be a woman and will either be Theresa May or Andrea Leadsom.
Please join me again soon in "To Brexit or not to Brexit - that is the question".
On 23 June the UK voted to leave the EU with 52% of the votes for Leave versus 48% for Remain.
While the majority of the country voted to leave, Scotland, Northern Ireland, London (and Gibraltar) voted to remain.
Nigel Farage, one of the main promoters of the leave campaign, announced in his victory speech that no bullet had been fired.
Just days before the referendum, labour MP Jo Cox died after being shot and stabbed by a man shouting "Britain first".
As the referendum results became apparent
- The pound sterling fell to its lowest level in 31 years.
- The markets crashed.
- David Cameron announced his resignation as Conservative Party leader and UK Prime Minister.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland voiced their firm intention to remain in the EU, potentially leading to the dismemberment of the United Kingdom.
- The ratings agencies downgraded the UK's credit rating.
When asked about the £350 million per week that had been promised to the NHS instead of the EU - one of the key messages of the Leave campaign - Nigel Farage admitted that it was a mistake and that he couldn't guarantee it.
The other lies of the Leave campaign soon became apparent:
Immigration levels cannot be reduced even if the UK leaves the EU.
The Leave campaigners now want preferential access to the single market, but the UK cannot get this if it does not accept freedom of movement.
Once voters started to become aware of the politicians' lies and of the devastating effects of the Leave vote on the economy and on the domestic political landscape, #Regrexit started to trend on Twitter.
So far 4 million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum on the EU.
On 28 June Nigel Farage spoke (for the last time?) and was booed at the European Parliament.
On 28 June at an informal meeting of the European Council (for the first time in 40 years without the UK PM), the 27 leaders of the member states announced that there would be no negotiations of any kind until the UK formally notified its intention to withdraw from the EU, i.e. until it triggered Article 50.
They also made it clear that there would be no compromise on freedom of movement.
On 30 June, in a shock announcement, Boris Johnson, a strong promoter of the Leave campaign and aspiring leader of the Tories, announced in a press statement that he would not stand for the Tory leadership contest.
So who will be the next conservative party leader?
Here are the contestants:
Teresa May - home secretary and supporter of Remain.
Michael Gove - justice secretary and Brexit campaigner.
Stephen Crabb - work and pensions secretary and supporter of Remain.
Andrea Leadsom - energy minister and promoter of Leave campaign.
Liam Fox - former cabinet minister and Brexit campaigner.
Meanwhile, the labour party is in disarray. Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader, has been repeatedly encouraged to leave (including by David Cameron "For heaven's sake man, go!") but he insists he's not going anywhere. Labour MPs even passed a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.
The Liberal Democrats party has reported that people are joining them at a rate of one a
minute following leader Tim Farron’s commitment to fight to rejoin the
EU.
Finally, the referendum result is not legally binding in UK law and alone does not trigger the UK's departure from the EU. That has to be done under the withdrawal process laid down in Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Once
notice is given by the PM, there is a two-year deadline to negotiate an exit deal.
Please join me for the next instalments.
