Monday 20 March 2017

Eve of Article 50?

R4 in the last 40 minutes: state of the Roads, Social Care crisis (not enough workers who can't be paid for anyway) and the fearsome process of Brexit. Surprise news to the fanatics you cannot simply "leave the EU". It is will be an intricate and very time consuming process. Not on R4 but our secondary school has written to us soliciting voluntary contributions to running costs (not some nice appeal for a new rowing boat or the like), part of the debate about how many schools are losing out in funding. Meanwhile there is a local scandal for one secondary which had until days ago a boarding wing. This has abruptly closed and some pupils who already lived 35 miles away have had it suggested by the County that they might consider Peterlee!!!! Crass, crass. As for the roads, my trip to Shildon has enough to say about that, especially the road to Scales Cross from Branch End. So what is this ramble about? Yes, I think signing Article 50 ought to be delayed. Perhaps we do need another election, although I can see many challenges in that. But the big truth, one May's predecessors have been trying to set out: Brexit now would be a folly. I have no doubts it imperils the British union (and those who say Brexit would be worth that are fools: better if they campaigned for England to leave the UK). But what we really need now as a nation is politicians of most colours willing to face down the idiots, fess up to the terrible process Brexit has been, and say that was a big mistake. Let us not dig the hole any deeper. Steady the ship and deal with real challenges rather than largely imagined ones. I am sure the shock of Brexit is such that some effective renewal of EU membership on terms that do accommodate real and valid concerns would be possible and in EVERYONE's interest here and on the Continent. Representatives of democracy do YOUR JOB and do not let popularism rule for that is not British Democracy.

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