No.36 - A Postern Gate for You James?

Dear James,

Eighteen days to go! 

We have had the Brady Amendment, the Cooper-Boles Amendment, the Spelman Amendment, the Rachael Reeves Amendment, the Grieve Amendment - enough amendments to amend the very concept of amendment itself. So far however, these parliamentary devices have been little more than pebbles thrown up at the windows of the castle of fossilized tradition - aka parliament - to awaken the blind, stricken giant within. Until now, most of the pebbles have simply ricocheted from the glass although a few have shattered a pain or two. Yet the ogre continues to huff and puff and shout back at the intruders in a demented, repetitive stream of invective, ever shriller, ever more unrealistic. But now the ground beneath the castle is moving James. There have between tremors and bits are beginning to fall off the battlements. As a stout defender of the castle it will soon be time for you to look for the postern gate – that mediaeval, quick exit way out of fortress May. Postern gates were hidden escape routes in the back walls of castles. Every castle had one – for when things got too hot and the besiegers were about to enter. 

We have now had two and half years of witnessing Mrs May’s absolutisms dissolving in the wind. “Brexit Means Brexit.” has long since been replaced by, ‘Backstop means Backstop’ and “I am delivering what the British People Demanded’ is now under threat from, ‘We demand a People’s Vote.’ Today our system of democracy for the last two hundred years is deadlocked. The talks with the EU are stalled. Britain is stalled. 

While parliament fiddles, industry burns. It is already leaving our shores. It has been announced today that £950bn of bank assets have been transferred to the continent in the last few months. This represents 10% of total bank assets and 1% of future government tax takes. The Japanese car industry has signalled its departure. The Germans are next. Airbus will follow. The failure of our political system is the direct cause of the approaching failure of our economic system. 

This almost comprehensive neglect of our democracy points to a failure of our two party system itself. Most people are sick and tired of watching the over privileged shout down the less privileged and the less privileged shouting back from their fantasy worlds. A system of proportional representation would be a massive step towards a complete realignment of British society.  Yet in this era of ultra fast fibre optic communications, we are going to have to bear the tawdry filing out of our MPs into the division lobbies followed by the mock-solemn, out dated reporting of its results to the speaker. Surely, the almost laughable Victorian smugness of this mother of parliaments has had its day? 

For the moment though we have to live with what we’ve got and this week there has been a glimmer of light which might offer you and your leader a postern gate? It is called the Kyle-Wilson Plan. It proposes that Parliament agrees Mrs May’s Deal on the condition that that deal is, thereafter, put back to the electorate for ratification i.e a new referendum on her deal or keep the present deal. This way you could leave the fortress with your heads held high. You could save face, feign sudden enlightenment and claim that you have compromised in the interests of the nation! This way you wouldn’t even need a postern gate. You could walk out of the front gate with head held high and announce that you had always been willing to listen and, ultimately, to compromise.  

You might even win the second vote. 

I’d settle for that!

Kind regards,  

BH - Your Concerned Constituent