I haven’t written anything in a couple of weeks. Mainly because my life was a little over-consumed with the state of British politics at the moment (in 2019). As a Brit living in Amsterdam I have made the most of the freedom of movement over my lifetime and so the past three and a half years have not only been a bit of a shitshow due to infertility and all the fun times that brings, but also watching the country of my birth seeming to slide backwards and become increasingly xenophobic and inward looking.
So, when after two years of impasse in the commons an election was called in October, I, along with many of those who voted remain were not confident about our chances of electing members of parliament to reflect our points of view.
‘But surely’, you might be asking, ‘if the majority votes for something, even if you don’t like it, you must accept that as an outcome in a democracy?’
Yes, absolutely…, if laws hadn’t been broken and dirty tricks played I would. Unfortunately the referendum itself was mired in scandal and a lot of the press in the UK is drifting more towards right wing propaganda than ever before, which means that (as one of our great parliamentarians Churchill said) – ‘a lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its shoes on’. Trying to counter ‘fake news’ delivered in an entertaining way straight from the populists handbook is even harder in the current fast news, low attention span current period.
However, this wasn’t the only issue in the UK. The remain opposition was also fractured across different parties and the main opposition leader had been so vilified in the press than even if he had once been electable (he really wasn’t ever, I’m being kind) he wasn’t any longer.
That’s why even though the conservatives received 43% of the vote, an increase of only 1.2% from the last election which resulted in a hung parliament, because the labour vote decreased AND turnout overall was down… the Tories won their biggest majority in decades.
Anyway, this isn’t meant to be a political blog, I am definitely not deep enough into the machinations of the political parties to give anything more than my opinion gathered via reputable news sources and commentators. But, I do know how the current politics makes me feel. And that is generally quite apprehensive, despondent and anxious.
Why though? Why does what is happening in the country of my birth and not the country I live in bother me so much? Many reasons, and chief among them is Brexit. I still, 3.5 years later, cannot see any benefit to anyone other than the rich for leaving the EU, and I am still waiting for anyone to give me a valid reason for how it will improve their lives. Reclaiming sovereignty or reducing immigration are most often touted but both fall down under scrutiny. Trade negotiations involve ceding some sovereignty in return for trade and immigration from the EU could always be controlled.
From those I know who voted for Brexit, I am often told that ‘you’ll be alright’ – the problem is… no one knows yet what lies in store for those who moved to Europe under free movement, will we be allowed to stay? Can we own property? What about visas? My job? Can I travel around the rest of the EU as easily as I can now? But actually, more importantly that this is that those same rights I am worried about losing are being taken away from millions of others too. Yes, I am in an enviable position that I have been in the Netherlands long enough to get residency. No, I cannot ‘just get’ a Dutch passport – they don’t allow dual nationality here.
More worrying and saddening than all this though is the 3million Europeans currently living in the UK who have been made to feel unwelcome and frightened to stay in the place that they have called their home. There are already many who have decided to leave. In addition to this is the rise in hate crime across the UK (well, let’s be honest, mainly England), directed at basically anyone who looks a bit different.
The political climate in the UK has enabled and emboldened all of this, and it is all of our responsibilities to say NO. Not in my name. No. This is not how things will be.
Martin Niemöller says it better:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me