England In Turmoil

In June of 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.  Chief among the reasons for leaving were hostility towards immigration, dislike of Brussels bureaucrats, concerns about retaining sovereignty, an anti-elite mood, a feeling of being left behind by globalization and a long history of Euroscepticism.

Sound familiar?  

Many people are equating BREXIT, and what is going on in Great Britain, with what is happening in the U.S. People want their country back!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2016

After the Brits shocked the world, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned soon thereafter.  Theresa May ascended to the office of Prime Minister.  Right out of the chute, May hired Obama lackies to “help” her Conservative Party write a platform to implement Brexit.

She has managed to take only baby steps.  Suspicion of Berlin and Brussels is what brought down Margaret Thatcher 30 years ago.  May (a Remainer) appears to be beholding to the financial sector, trade unions and the Germans instead of delivering what the people voted for.

President Trump could voice support for a “clean break” with Brussels during his visit to the United Kingdom and could also criticize the Chequers Plan which triggered the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, resigned this past Sunday saying, “Brexit is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt.”

In his letter of resignation, he accused the Prime Minister of “reducing Britain to the status of an EU colony.”

At issue is the Chequers Plan, Theresa May’s “attempt” to strong-arm her Cabinet into backing a “softer” Brexit which would allow the UK to control tariffs and pursue an independent trade policy and continue to pretend it is within the EU customs territory.

The only serious suggestion must be a leadership change. No. 10 may have calculated that the Brexiteers do not have the numbers to win, but the reality of leadership contests is that they can spin out of control. Whatever path is taken, the Chequers proposals need to be overturned. If a further climbdown takes place on migration, as some expect, Brexit would indeed be a mockery and undermine the legitimacy of British democracy.

The British people voted to leave the EU not because they were tired of immigrants stealing their jobs, but because they were tired of European bureaucrats in Brussels, taking orders from Berlin, chipping away at the centuries-old British tradition of self-government.