Time to go Mrs May

I am not for one minute neglecting the very difficult position that Mrs May has found herself in with regards to the Brexit negotiations for the last two years or so. However, sadly one must conclude that she has dug her own political grave. She never hid from the fact that in the run-up to the EU referendum she campaigned for remain, but she stated from day one in Downing Street that she’ll respect the ‘will of the British people’ in what was the biggest ever democratic exercise that the United Kingdom has ever seen. Sadly, two and a bit years later that statement seems nothing more than a mere smokescreen.

The country as a whole was unarguably surprised when vote leave prevailed. It has since been seen as a vote against the ‘political elite’. Despite the stereotypes and labelling of leave voters, the vote went deeper than simply ‘controlling immigration’, even if that was an important factor. The vote was certainly a shock to the political system.

Especially within the last year, the ‘people’s vote’ campaign has gained support throughout the country, demanding that the vote is once again given back to the British people. This has gained support from a few MP’s across the political spectrum including Chuka Umunna, Caroline Lucas and Anna Soubry. Their campaign over the last twenty four hours has surely gained more support and why is that? That is because of the disastrous Chequers deal that Mrs May is trying to push through parliament.

To some extent I understand the intentions I presume Mrs May had about trying to get the Chequers proposal through parliament. I presume her intention was to try and settle this huge divide throughout the whole political hierarchy in the UK but all she has done I am afraid is deepen that divide. If one studies the Chequers proposal in detail, it isn’t delivering on the will of the British people, even if she does start every speech by saying that very sentence. The UK voted to leave the European Union, I don’t remember the option on the ballot paper stating ‘partially in, partially out’, it was either ‘Leave the European Union’ or ‘Remain a member of the European Union’. Having at least a two-year transition period with the EU and then paying a divorce bill of around £39 billion and not even having a clean-break with the EU after that is not Brexit.

I understand that like any business negotiations there are likely to be concessions on both-sides. However, there are appears to be a lot of concessions on our side and very little on the EU’s side. The EU must be in dreamland right now. They have managed to keep one of the largest global economies in their own shackles and will receive a huge sum of money in two years time. The issue of the Irish border is a complex one, but the EU have not shown any willingness to be adaptable to the needs of this country. They have rejected numerous proposals from British politicians and Mrs May has given into the EU and even threatened the integrity of the United Kingdom by agreeing to Northern Ireland having to stay in close regulation with the EU after Brexit.

I would’ve thought that Boris Johnson’s and David Davis’ resignations from the government cabinet would’ve served as a warning to the political unrest that Chequers would impose on this country. Unfortunately Mrs May has not acknowledged this warning and has sailed Britain in completely the wrong direction.

Two Brexit secretary resignations from David Davis and Dominic Raab and numerous other cabinet resignations including from Esther McVay, Rehmen Chishti, Suella Braverman and more in the last twenty four hours highlights the disastrous handling of these negotiations by Mrs May. Prominent Tory figure Jacob-Rees Mogg even wrote a letter of no confidence to the Prime Minister and he surely won’t be the only one. If Mrs May doesn’t change her stance on Brexit, she has no political future as Prime Minister.

In terms of moving forwards, there are a few possibilities. Either Mrs May listens to her party and changes the type of deal she wants with the EU or we face either a no-deal or a second referendum. A second referendum would be even more divisive in British politics and that option rejects the very notion of democracy that was exercised in 2016. Democratically that should not be an option. So that leaves us with two choices if Mrs May doesn’t change her stance; Chequers which would be political and economic suicide or we leave with no deal at all. Mrs May always said that no deal would be better than a bad deal – if only she listened to her own advice.

No deal could ensure that Britain leaves the EU on WTO terms, something many Brexiteers have been campaigning for from day 1. It would give Britain freedom to forge her own trade deals, control our borders and ensure political sovereignty. It would prevent us paying this ridiculous divorce bill and given the vast sum of money that would save, this money could be paid back into society where it could make a huge difference – for example the NHS and the education sector. The Irish border is the one thing that the EU believe they can hold against us, but even a no-deal Brexit would not lead to a hard border being reinstated between North and South Ireland. Britain would be free to put forward their own ideas to Ireland which have already been put forward whilst retaining British sovereignty and unity.

But I’m afraid this is not going to happen under a Prime Minister who seems determined to get a bad deal for this country. She hasn’t satisfied anyone in this country – Remainers and Brexiteers alike and I thought that would be enough for her to change her stance. Her determination however to see through this current deal is going to lead to a no-vote confidence in her and a new Prime Minister – probably either Jacob Rees-Mogg or Boris Johnson. If Mrs May fulfilled her own promises over the last two years including in the last general election, we wouldn’t find ourselves in the mess we do today. Quite simply, Mrs May has got to go, otherwise Britain will be stuck in the shackles of the EU and there will be a huge political crisis.

And it is a shame the way that it has panned out, because her failure of dealing with Brexit has unfortunately overshadowed all of the positive domestic work that this government has done. No-one is going to remember her for providing the highest levels of employment since WW2, or the record level of funding into the NHS, she will be remembered for her disastrous approach to the Brexit negotiations and for that she simply must go.