The feeling of sickness has just about subsided.
The complete disbelief has been replaced by a realisation. A realisation that I live in a bubble and my bubble has burst. Irreparably.
The fears still lurk.
History teaches me that since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), Britain, Great Britain, has played the role of “honest broker” in Europe. Not taking sides, but favouring the party or cause most likely to secure equilibrium, without undue conflict.
As Martti Ahtisaari said in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, the role of the mediator is to “know the outcome and to some extent explain it to the parties…”.
Who will now play that role? Not only do we not now know what outcome we want, but we have resigned our legitimacy to fulfil that direct role.
With a Europe increasingly polarised, with Russia keen to divert internal woes through posturing of external might; with the US potentially moving to an isolationist stance and with China and Japan rattling sabres in the South China Sea, the risk of nationalist conflict, especially in Europe, has risen dramatically.
I genuinely fear having to explain that to our children.
A dear friend once described a Peer of the Realm, who I was dealing with, as charming, intelligent and cunning, the “Andrex puppy”. When asked to explain, he said that said Lord was irresistible. He acted as any puppy does, playfully and without boundaries, always wanting his own way. Occasionally he just could not help himself but (metaphorically, thankfully) “shit on your foot”.
When, understandably, you went to remonstrate, forcefully, said Lord looked at you with big puppy eyes and you acted reasonably. He shat on you, you acted reasonably.
Just as will happen now. The Brexit puppy has just defecated massively on us remainers and is now asking us to be reasonable.
I voted in, we are out. I have anger, frustration and fear. They have victory, hope but no solid plans.
But, irresistibly, they now hold the over-riding irrefutable trump (with a lower case T) cards.
First, democracy. It wins every time and we need it to, at almost any cost. It may not be perfect but it is, as they say, better than any alternative. The people spoke, so we must act accordingly. That means decently.
Second, I have a gripping need to secure my family. So we gird our loins once again and act decently and with renewed purpose.
Third, my feelings of petulance are offset by a dutiful desire to help the nation. As an immigrant, brought up to be “a good host and a better guest”, it is engrained within me to play my part, like it or not.
Conversely, I have to admit to a lingering schadenfreude reaction, compelling me to say “no, I won’t help”, loudly. To leave the mess to the outers to sort out.
But, in boxing parlance, a frustratingly overwhelming points win to the ‘Justgetonwithit’ corner.
In a few years’ time, economic and social equilibrium of some sort will have been established. It will be achieved, at least in part, on the back of the efforts of many reluctant, irritated Justgetonwithits.
Whether the derived status quo is better or worse than it would have been had we remained will be argued about, but ultimately impossible to prove (not that fact has to date clouded the story).
There will be equilibrium. The outers will squawk “see, we told you so”. The Justgetonwithits will feel aggrieved, trapped and used.
But, still get on with it. And so we should.
It is our duty and the right thing to do. And sometimes that is the end of it.
I do not believe in this mythical resurgence of the British bulldog entrepreneurial spirit. I do not see any Churchillian figure rallying the collective nation against a European evil. What I see is realism. Cold hard and simple. In effect, decent people who have no choice but to face prevailing reality and try to make the best of it.
Not just Remainers. We must expect – in fact demand and hold publicly accountable – the Brexiteers; from business, the Cruddas’, the Bamfords and the Dysons. We should expect a fabulous innings from Botham and some pythonesque humour to rally the nation from Cleese. We must see credible and forceful leadership from Westminster. It’s time for them to stand up and lead.
And let’s not let a good disaster go to waste. Its’ a time for cold hard realism.
We have a clearly divided Britain. My London bubble is simply non representative. However, it is economically powerful and should be fostered. It must continue to lead economically, so we can use that power to invest in those parts of the wider nation that can realistically benefit and to re-embrace the disaffected. Not regional tokenism but cold hard returns based investment, with advocates held accountable for delivery.
This is a generational issue. We must take this opportunity to commit, across party lines and beyond parliament; to invest, and heavily, in the education and skills of our young. They do not just live in London. That may mean some of us grey hairs having to accept slightly less over the next 10 years, so we can guarantee investment. It may mean our children having to accept binding pledges to repay such investment in them. So be it.
Nor do the values we hold dear just flourish in white middle class villages. Let’s take the opportunity to define them, these British values that many believed Europe was threatening. Perhaps just having the national debate will force coalescence.
Just look at the GB Olympic team. Every colour, religion, sex, and probably sexual orientation. Some Brexiteers, others remainers. All elite athletes. All sharing values of decency, hard work, community, professionalism, excellence and a ruthless desire to win. All united under the national (yes, national) banner.
This commonality of purpose already thrives on estates, in mansions, academies, Eton and perhaps even Westminster. Values are economically and socially agnostic. Perhaps what they need is to be publicly defined then nourished, protected, revered, championed and defended forcefully.
So, let’s use this moment to reaffirm what we stand for and want to be known for as a nation. Rigorous, even heated debate is to be welcomed, even encouraged, but we have the right, as (lower case ‘l’) liberals, to demand a public commitment to shared values. We must use this time to revitalise a national pride based on these values.
Perhaps the most telling display of this would be 4M: a ‘Million Moderate Muslim March’, supporting these values. A march by a grouping of British nationals, crudely and deliberately conflated by some with immigration and terror during the Referendum debate.
I for one would applaud them joining together to show, by marching on Westminster in their hundreds of thousands, adherence to the values we all hold dear and an utter rejection of radicalism. No different from the Jarrow March of old. British Muslims taking their rightful place in British society and on the front line of protecting what we all hold dear, at a time when pragmatism and fortitude are needed.
And finally, let’s all be realistic. There are sectors of industry in which we simply cannot compete globally. There are areas of the country that will never rediscover their glory of old, based on past models. There is going to be a perhaps lengthy period of transition and it is going to get tough. Both the process and the outcome are going to have generational impact, one way or another.
There are jobs that others came here to do. We will have to do them as well as they did and at the same price. Or not have the services.
We have strategic excellence in certain areas: the City, education, diplomacy, services, healthcare and the military, to name but a few. We have regions crying out to be reskilled. Let’s invest where we can compete, concede where we cannot and sell, sell, sell our excellence to the world.
But let’s not delude ourselves that the days of the great mines and regional manufacturing of all sorts will suddenly flourish. We have to re-earn the right to be called “Great”. We may even have to accept a different role in the world.
I for one will begin campaigning for returning to a reformed Europe. In just the same way as the outers campaigned for decades, so I now have the right to campaign for return. It’s not sour grapes or whinging. It is democracy, same as it was for Brexiteers leading up to the referendum. It’s not going to impact on my commitment to succeed. It may not happen in my lifetime, but so what. In reality, all my efforts will be undertaken in the hope of making things better for the next generation.
But I will knuckle down and Justgetonwithit. I will accept the irony that if I am successful, I will have proven the case for the opposition. I will see what part I can play to make it work. If everyone takes responsibility for just improving their immediate vicinity, then the cumulative effect offers some hope.
I cannot guarantee how we will be treated by other nations. I know what they think of us now and it is not complimentary. Perhaps we can show them that our Justgetonwithit spirit is what has truly emerged from the vote, something they will undoubtedly admire and want to bring back within their union soon.
Al Insky
August 2016