We have been given lots and lots of reasons by the powers that be for Brexit and in order for that to be achieved, lots and lots of people in positions of power, across the political divide, lied to the general public. A few examples are; The £350 million to the NHS bus slogan, the impending immediate economic crash, right through to the picture of thousands of migrants queuing to get into UK and most perniciously the statement by the now Foreign Secretary that millions of Turkish people would be eligible and want to enter UK when Turkey became a member of the EU and we would be helpless to stop it.
Lies, lies and more lies creating and exacerbating the fear of “johnny foreigner”! This was the predication of the means to get us to vote “Leave”.
But what were the real reasons? From Farage to Johnson to Gove the mantra was incessantly, “take back control” and “Get our country back”.
So what exactly do these phrases mean to those who were espousing them?
Clearly, they were appealing to the voters to become independent again, to regain our sovereignty, to remain Great Britain, the superpower in the world and a force to be reckoned with, in our own right internationally. I am suggesting that the back-story to this, as reiterated constantly by the people making those claims, was subtly different.
The establishment, throughout history, has had carte blanche to run the country in their own way and to meet their own self interested needs and expectations. The law was accessed via their wealth, lobbyists ensured government listened to their wishes, legislation was created in their favour, taxes were adjusted so they could accrue more wealth. They did this by, sending their children to public schools, taking all the best university places, creating incestuous networks that ensured the few retained power at the expense of the progress of the majority. Holding onto land and lobbying government through their wealth to ensure their continued dominance.
The establishment through the “Nine Principles” achieves this by;
- Wealth wields power via elections. (Battles buses, call centres, breaking election rules)
- Legislation increases wealth.
- This reduces democracy handing more power to the wealthy establishment.
- The welfare state is reduced.
- Shaping ideology.(business good, state bad)
- Redesign the economy. (Reduce regulation, increase worker insecurity, protect financial institutions from market forces)
- Shift the burden. (Increase tax burden proportionately for precariat, reduce tax burden proportionately for plutocracy)
- Attack solidarity. (Reduce social security, privatise public services)
- Run the regulators. (Lobbyists influence legislation to favour business, e.g. bail out banks not manufacturing)
This is the pernicious cycle of establishment as outlined by Chomsky.
That’s what “Brexit “ is really about. A return to the old order, which the EU threatened by usurping the institutions which were historically, set up by the establishment, populated by the establishment, run by the establishment and perpetuated by the establishment for successive generations.
That’s what you voted for, when you were duped into voting Leave!
One clear example recently of this at work was on Newsnight on Friday 23rd June 2017. When Andrea Leadsom, the failed Tory leader candidate and now promoted to the Cabinet in May’s weak and lacklustre government, when being questioned closely by the interviewer about the current Brexit negotiations said.
“The media needs to be more patriotic”
What she really meant was, know your place, just as you did in the old days when we ran things and you did as you were told.
Well I have some news for Leadsom and it ain’t good.
We are never going back to knowing our place; our mothers and fathers did not fight two world wars, and our sons and daughters did not fight your wars around the world, which has now created this mess, for you to reassert the old dominion. Britain is now an egalitarian country and we will fight you tooth and nail for our new freedoms and the extension of them. Whether that is with EU assistance or not!