Boris Johnson’s disgraceful failure to protect our US ambassador from Donald Trump’s bullying is yet another reason to demonstrate on Saturday week against our probable new prime minister. The “no to Boris, yes to Europe” demo is taking place three days before Johnson is expected to be selected as leader of the Tory Party by a mere 0.25% of our population.
Johnson refused again and again during Tuesday night’s ITV debate to say he would keep Kim Darroch as ambassador if he beats Jeremy Hunt in the contest to be our next prime minister. His failure to defend our man in Washington from Trump’s contemptible attacks – which included calling him “wacky”, a “very stupid guy” and a “pompous fool” – were one of the reasons Darroch fell on his sword.
Johnson has shown he will bow and scrape to curry favour with Trump. This sadly isn’t just his own terrible judgment. It is a sign of how Brexit is undermining our power in the world.
If we don’t stop the madness, whoever is prime minister will be pushed around. Trump will bully us. China will bully us. Even our erstwhile friends in Europe will bully us. We will be tempted to suck up to the bully-boys.
By contrast, if we say “yes to Europe”, we will be one of the big powers in a bloc of 28 nations. We will be able to hold our heads high in the world.
July 20th
Park Lane, London
Click here to find out more
On July 20, people will be expressing their justified anger that a hard Brexiter is being forced on the country against its will. It would be undemocratic to rip us out of Europe without first checking that the people still want Brexit, when what is on offer is so different from what was promised three years ago.
Don’t think Hunt will be any better if he pulls off a victory against the odds. He’s on pretty much the same path to destruction as Johnson and may be less likely to do a u-turn.
We will not just be saying “no” to Boris and “no” to Brexit. We will be saying “yes” to Europe. People will speak with passion about how we can fix the country’s real problems if we stop fixating about Brexit. The list is endless – the NHS, the climate crisis, knife crime, child poverty, opportunities for young people, care of the elderly, social mobility, lack of investment in large swathes of our country for decades and so forth. We will have the money, time and power to fix these problems if we stay in the EU.
So get out on July 20 and say “no to Boris, yes to Europe”.
Edited by Luke Lythgoe
The outrage of our Prime Minister being selected by an unrepresentative and unelected 0.25% of the population seems to have given rise to little more than a few grumbles, as in this piece. In the present case entrusting the selection to MPs alone might not have made any difference, as Conservative MPs voted for Johnson, but an appalling precedent is being set. Anyone who feels strongly about it should sign the petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/250515
There will be no way back to Europe after a no deal Brexit. Infacts and people who share your standpoint must bear their share of responsibility. Your uncompromising rejection of the EU agreement condemns Britain to this tragedy. With that deal, we would at least have remained on good terms with the EU. The trade agreements that it would have barred us from making don’t matter anyway. The economic fallout would have been manageable. There would have been a route back. Now the long-term economic costs will be enormous and we lose Europe’s goodwill. That loss of goodwill is critical for our all-important exports of services to Europe, on which we totally depend. That is at risk. That’s not what you wanted, was it, Mr Dixon?
Dear Robert
If you didn’t notice the agreement you mention was defeated four times in the House of Commons. Nothing to do with INFACTS. Your blame for this predicament should be directed at the forlorn Tories and the John Major type ‘bastards’ who have never gone away. In particular, blame one Cameron, who arrogantly called a referendum and did not put the correct safeguards in place.
The ‘agreement’ would have meant the UK having to follow the rules without a say and that is not acceptable.
Mrs May’s deal was obviously preferable to what seems now likely to happen. The loss of goodwill for our services exports of a confrontational, hostile Britain could cripple us – see my article here: https://infacts.org/brexit-threatens-uks-successful-services-exports/. If it has had any influence on the outcome, Infacts will have precisely that share of the responsibility for this.
Robert
The battle is not finished. If we just caved in to this idiocy then I feel I would be culpable. Infacts has been pointing out the fallacies of it all. The blame lies firmly with Cameron for starting all of this .
Also, politicians across the board allowed the referendum legislation through when it was obviously weak and they allowed Article 50 to be triggered without due diligence. You may be correct that the goodwill of the EU will be lost in the event of a No Deal but to blame committed remainers is wrong. You are actually giving Leavers ammunition to bolster their fallacious intentions. They are fools and the case for remaining must be put. Perhaps if it had been put properly in 2016 the result may have been different.
I am not as intelligent or as eloquent as you but I feel insulted that, as a supporter of this website, I am being blamed for Brexit. I am not giving in, but sounds as if you are.
Dear Robert and William,
I can see that much of your dialogue is well intentioned. Nevertheless I see InFacts as just one source of information albeit often quite informative. The readers dialogue tends to reflect great frustration and fear.
Therefore looking further afield, at other perspectives on Brexit, there is an excellent blog from Professor Chris Grey.
https://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/?m=1
The New European is also good with video clips, especially enlightening, when seeing journalists and indeed the general public tearing the Brexiters arguments apart.
I hope the above prove useful?
I, for one, see the danger of the Brexit project going further than simply savaging the UK economy. It threatens democracy and is permitting powerful and dishonest people to create an environment of hatred, contempt and anti-democratic views to take hold.
I would really hope that the whole of the sensible UK population wake up to this and make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Nick
We laughed at Italy because of Berlusconi; looks like the last laugh is going to be on us. Borisolini? Is this the depths to which the UK has sunk? Brexiters, hypocrites to the last one of them, quite happy to sell out the UK to the US. How is regaining sovereignty going?
Dear Nick
Thanks for the information. I do, in fact, have a much broader vision of Europe and Brexit than the economic/trade arguments stated in Robert’s piece above. I was moved to reply to him because I thought he was being a bit defeatist.
I have subscribed to The New European since the first edition and also have a reasonable understanding if the historical background to the EU, having taught history for almost 30 years (now retired).
I don’t think I have ever felt so strongly about any political issue and agree with what you have said re democracy. Have done all the big marches and written many, many times to my MP and others. Thank you for the link to Chris Grey.
Best Wishes
William D
Thanks to William Taylor and NJ for a civilised debate.
I too am a passionate remainer. But sometimes you have to compromise to avoid the worse outcome. Words like ‘unacceptable’, accusations of defeatism are signs of the radicalisation of attitudes on both sides. It is a revolutionary situation, like the French Revolution, with more and more extreme attitudes becoming normal; this way lies much worse outcomes to which NJ refers and I agree. That is why I pleaded with my Remain friends to support Mrs May’s deal, however much they hated it. The economics of it are that that deal would harm the UK economy – leaving the EU on any terms will do that, – but the harm is limited and manageable. Leaving without a deal will do irrevocable, serious and unavoidable long term damage. I wish Mrs May had had the skills to spell that out to the public. Most annoying of all is the question: “Is Briltain ready for a no deal Brexit?” as if it were just a matter of building lorry parks near Dover. There is no way at all of preparing for a no deal Brexit that will reduce its immense harm. The only way to be sure of avoiding that was to support Mrs May’s deal.
That is why I was depressed by Mr Dixon’s immediate and outright rejection of it and I wrote to Infacts to say so at the time. Now we have offended our European partners so badly we have lost goodwill – goodwill that is key to selling our services to them. Selling services is a personal matter much more than selling goods.
Thank you again, we can only pray our country will come to its senses – never has its lost its way so badly, not in the past 1,000 years anyway.
Robert
Hello William
Many thanks for your response and very interesting, positive comments.
I’m right with you about being proactive. A pity that work gets in the way of being able to attend marches.
Certainly our family is ramping up support for Remain, many of us having joined the Lib Dems.
In other areas, it’s not easy to know how to pitch individual support, and whether or not it will be effective.
My view is that it’s critical for as many pro-EU supporters to simply keep talking and share factual information with anyone and everyone – pro and anti. In other words keep up the networking.
One shouldn’t be looking for successes by counting a conversion has been made. People don’t readily admit that they’ve been lied to or been deceived. That’s unrealistic.
Instead, come hell or high water, we should all keep up the dialogue. I’m more than convinced that it’s worth it.
Once the new election comes we just need sufficient people to vote to ensure that a LibDem, Labour, Greens, SNP coalition can carry the day. Why Labour? I think the Corbyn gatekeepers are going to be flushed out soon by the anti-semitism scandal – every dog has its day!
I’ll keep looking out for your contributions!
BW
Nick
Hello Robert
You’ll have noticed that I’m in writing mode just now! First of all, you’re welcome.
You mention loss of goodwill?
I see this differently. I’m glued to the news every day including German and British media.
From all the European politicians and news bulletins I have listened to, I am left in no doubt that the view of the UK’s plight from the continent is seen through very intelligent eyes.
These people don’t trade insults with, and stay clear of remarking upon comments from, the cynical Tory and Brexit Party politicians.
They recognise that the UK has been highjacked by an extreme right wing elite.
They know that these people don’t represent the soul or spirit of the average British person.
It’s my belief that the warmth and goodwill remains.
BW
Nick
Fair enough, Nick, William,
thanks for the civilised discussion, I’m signing off now as we are off to the Lake District tomorrow, Bye for now
Robert
All these debates and opinions depends on where you live and your circumstances.
It all comes down to the overall balance of the country.