No. 46 - 'Brexit Betrayal'? But who is betraying whom?
Dear James,
Today The Daily Telegraph screams,’Brexit Betrayal’ across its front page. But who is betraying whom?
It’s all so predictable. Mrs May is trapped. Even at this late date, she cannot think outside her emotional and mental tramlines. All her instincts direct her towards the preservation of the Tory Party. So if she moves towards her new Labour Party pals it would mean Tory Party suicide courtesy of the ERG. They are already screaming treachery but they too are trapped by last December’s own goal when their no confidence vote in May failed disallowing another vote for a year. So they now have to find other ways to remove their leader. Talk about ferrets in a sack - last night one of the chief ferrets, John Redwood, displayed his grim features vibrating visibly on Channel 4 News when confronted by the present reality in parliament.
So why is Mrs May so enslaved by this group of approximately 117 recalcitrant Tories? Because they are the nostalgic Tories. The word, ‘nostalgia’ derives from the Greek ‘algos’- pain and ‘nostos’ for homecoming i.e. the pain of returning to some wistful past. The ERG’s values and hopes are buried deep in the social structure of our nation, a structure based firmly in the hierarchy of a thousand years of continuous and largely unbroken tradition which finds its current roots deep in the centre of our major public schools. Last week it erupted into full public view when Jacob Rees Mogg (Eton) attacked Nick Boles (Winchester) in the Commons during the indicative vote debate. He accused him of being ‘characteristically Wykhemist-highly intelligent but fundamentally wrong’. There it was for all to see! The mindset that it is your public school that matters, not your university, not your degree, not even your profession. It is where your asset rich parents sent you at the age of 13 to mix with kids of other asset rich parents in order to rule the nation. What better way to conserve privilege and entitlement?
France had its revolutions, Germany lost two world wars and the rest of Europe went through its offshoot rebellions. Only the UK’s social structure survived intact. But what does this mean? Well it’s not all bad. There are more oak trees in the UK than in the whole of Western Europe because the old estates in the UK were never broken up and many of these oaks live on such estates. Clearly stability and continuity are good things of which we should be thankful. The downside of course is that such holdings also preserve the social hierarchy that went with it.
Our parliament too evolved from this interaction between the landed gentry and the common people. Until the Great Reform Act of 1832 the former dominated. Today they still do but in a very subtle and disguised way. New MPs coming into parliament are immersed in this history, overwhelmed by the pictures on the walls, the sayings and quotations under the pictures, the mock-tudor architecture of the buildings. Not only that. The very procedures of the two chambers, their clothes and their rituals are opaque to the common man and confused and confusing even unto parliament itself. The induction into the Commons is semi-mystical, supported by the building, and dominated by the male swagger and booming voices of the old Tory party. It is all out dated. We need to adapt to the modern world.
So who is betraying whom? In my view it is this discomfited band of ancient brothers who are betraying the nation. Until now they have managed to link up with the ‘left behind’ swathe of the population and persuaded them to believe that they represent their interests. Now with Mrs May in a trap they are demanding that the Tory Party replaces her with one of their own for if it doesn’t they will lose out to the extreme right, UKIP and Farage’s new party. Farage (Dulwich) is also, of course, public school educated. But that doesn’t count because Dulwich is only a ‘minor’ public school. Ouch!
Surely now, in this moment of extreme crisis, it’s time to think again James? To break out of the suffocating cocoon of history, to shrug off the mantel of adversarial politics and to learn the craft of nuanced debate and consensus building rather than embedding our nation in stalemate at sword’s length?
I hope you, James, are as confused and dismayed as the rest of us. However, in the next few days you will again have the chance to vote in the indicative list. Please choose wisely. Think of the nation rather than your party. And remember, ultimately, the only way to regain parliament's legitimacy at such a crucial point in our nation’s history is to seek the ratification of, whatever deal is agreed, from the people.
Kind regards,
BH - Your Concerned Constituent