‘When Will We Hear these Brexit Truths From an Opposition Leader?’
For all the talk about ‘levelling up’ in this country, the far more pressing need is for us politicians, finally, to level with the British people. It is way past time to admit that all of us, from across the political spectrum – regrettably in my own party as well as in the Government – have not been honest with you about the real problems in this country. And how we all chose to exploit Brexit as a way to distract from our own internal political failures.
I know many people are sick and tired of the subject. So this is not actually a speech about Brexit per se. But Brexit is the overriding context in which we are currently operating and which is making it harder to have an honest conversation about any of our political, economic or social problems. Until we can speak the truth about Brexit, we will not be able to speak the truth about anything – let alone come up with any realistic solutions.
I readily understand why many people chose to support Brexit.
How could it not be seen as an attractive proposition, when for years so many unscrupulous politicians chose to blame Brussels rather than Westminster for their own poor policy decisions? When for years, too many unscrupulous journalists chose to propagate those same lies rather than call them out, in order to drive newspaper sales, audience figures or social media clicks. And when for years, too many unscrupulous figures chose to back Brexit – not as a genuine way to improve our country’s situation, but as a way to advance their own political careers.
Such people promised, with willful dishonesty, that Brexit would be the magic solution to all the UK’s problems. Voters were promised that it would bring back ‘our money’ from the EU, allowing us to spend more on our own services, such as the NHS, schools or police. They were promised it would allow us to “take back control” of our borders, so that we could attract the brightest and best migrants to our shores, while keeping out those we did not want.
They were promised that we would be ‘able to have our cake and eat it’ – that we would still be able to trade easily with the EU, while simultaneously signing wonderful new trade deals with countries around the rest of the world. They were also promised that it would restore sovereignty to the British people, allowing elected MPs, not foreign ‘bureaucrats’, to have the final say over our laws and policies.
Can any of us honestly say now that any of these promises have come true?
