Twisted truth is normal politician talk these days. Even Prime Minister talk when we hear there will be an Independence dividend. Only those with Blind Faith believe that there will be a financial dividend, nobody knows for sure. We do not even flinch when we hear a twisted truth, ‘ah it just means our taxes will be raised’, or we even look away ‘they’re all the same, liars’, hey why even listen in the first place ? This is nothing new, indeed. Yet when there is a major vote, when we vote against something abstract (the EU) rather than for something specific (Independence in its boring details of international Law, Rules, Standards, Immigration flows) we vote on what we know are twisted truths. 

We know many politicians and spin doctors are talking in Bad Faith, and yet we are all asked for Blind Faith in the future of the nation, High Seas bound. 

And that’s OK ? 

What does Independence mean ?
Who did Leave voters listen to ?
Which version do they believe in ? 

Get on with it.
Get on with what exactly ? 

I argued with a friend of mine who voted Leave about this ‘getting on with it’ mantra we keep hearing and reading. I totally respect her reasons for voting as she did, and totally deplore people who keep saying Leave voters are stupid. We all believe different things, understand certain things, have no clue about other things, always have, always will, and so it should be in a democracy. It is no wonder our government cannot come to a consensus when the conversation on the ground is often ‘you’re stupid’ ‘this is democracy’ ‘what part of Leave do you not understand’. Some of us would like to think our Prime Minister and those who oppose her are genuinely trying to come to a consensus, though it gets harder by the day to keep Faith in this, but how on earth can they anyway, when nobody knows what part of Leave we are supposed to understand ?  

One of my friend’s reasons for her Leave vote was the brain drain from the poorer Easter European countries into the richer countries like ours, and she is absolutely right that we get fully trained doctors, engineers and nurses and do not train enough ourselves. She is also right, as are all Leave voters, that there are many things wrong with the EU. 

Our latest online conversation led to her objecting to my saying that normal people who voted Leave need to be vocal about what they wanted from Independence. She argued, quite rightly, that she does not have time to do this. She works, hard, I know because I worked with her. Thing is, it does not change the fact that Normal Leave voters who do not take part in the new conversation the nation needs to have cannot escape the fact that there are consequences.

Sorry, not my fault.

Listen to our Prime Minister (link below) when she says “The Will of the People”. Look at her. Does she sound convinced ? Do the words that come out of her mouth sound as genuine as my friend who argues about brain drain ? As my farmer friend who argues the EU cards are stacked against British farmers ? As friends who do not want to be a part of a closer Union ? As friends who want sovereignty ? As friends who hate what was done to Greece ? As friends who want to make better bigger easier trade deals in the rest of the world ? Never mind flipping immigration we all know was decisive in the outcome of the vote yet is not being discussed properly as to who will be able to work in the UK and how.

At least we’ve finally got doctors able to come, that only took two years; though I can’t help but remember my friend mentioning brain drain, now it will be from even poorer countries.

Sorry, but that’s what’s happening. 

In July 2016 I went to a birthday party. I was part of a big argument with a Leave voter who refused to say what she voted for, as opposed to against. For once I was not the one pushing for an answer. As it happens none came anyway: “That’s not up to me. That’s up to politicians, that’s what we elect them for”. Yet politicians have managed to convince The People that the vision of the future is up to a minority Government that cannot agree with itself, with no specific vision after two years. This lack of agreed vision is plain for citizens, the EU and the whole world to see. There are plenty groups out there fighting for their vision of Independent UK, as well as a continued EU-UK, as is everybody’s right in a democracy. 

So keep quiet by all means, but those with an agenda only clear to their closed circle will push for what they want. The vacuum will be filled. 

As is always the case with any advances in politics, these are extremists trailblazing a path. And they’ve got the financial means to achieve a lot, like winning a referendum, pushing for a No Deal. Is that the path you voted for ? If it is, great, the other side will keep fighting, because extremists always need taming once they’ve cracked the door open to a new future from vegan plastic warriors to xenophobes. That, am afraid is inevitable, in fact, doing nothing, am sorry to say, is what these extremist no-deal-anti-EU groups are counting on. They know that on the whole British people are not really interested in politics. I can’t blame them, politics is tedious at the best of times.

Just now, it is particularly filled with Bad Faith on all sides. 

At a time when we are being asked for Faith in our government to deliver a better future outside rather than inside the biggest union of democratic nations in the world, however imperfect in our tumultuous human world, what future will we get if the normal people don’t have a say in the future of the nation ? 

Never in 30 years have I seen British people as active in politics as they are now.

However the middle ground of normal people with genuine concerns is totally drowned by the extremists on both sides whose aims are either to stay in, which could lead to uproar in some Leave camps, or nobody knows exactly what when we are Independent. What we do know is that many of those who pull the strings of Independence have huge interests in global trade in services, mostly financial, and are most definitely part of an elite group of international money men who travel the world with enough power to change the winds in the weather in all countries. They will benefit if they have invested their money on the UK’s economy crashing and it does crash (some of whom blame Soros for seeing how things pan out in crises) or on standards being lowered so we can access new markets in imports and exports. Make of these facts that are widely reported what you will as to the consequences for the nation, for the farmers, for the fishermen, for the creatives, for research, for health, for the shop keepers, for the consumers of fresh produce, for British manufacturers who rely on European parts or European market; for the future of our children. This is not Project Fear of spurious future facts, these are questions for Independence that need answers, not mere hope or positivity. 

We are not getting constructive answers, so it is only fair to keep asking the questions.  

In times of effective Bad Faith and expected Blind Faith, I can only keep sane if I have Faith in the British people finally waking up from a slippery slope of the “Will of the People” that mean nothing unless The People speak their will. 

What Independence are we seeking ?

I can only have Faith that normal people of all political persuasions will stop being side tracked by Bad Faith and effectively be silenced by extremists with Blind Faith. 

The alternative as it stands is Blind Faith in Bad Faith. 

Who wants that ?

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10 Downing Street Facebook Page: PM words on EU withdrawal bill.
http://www.facebook.com/10downingstreet/videos/vb.7303343452/10156573101393453