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THERE’S a sour mood spreading across the United Kingdom, pushed by polls and media reports, but also by arguments and debates over family dining tables and in pubs. The daily drip-drip-drip of bad news feeds into this narrative. Day in and day out, we are reminded that the economy is in decline, and things will get worse after Brexit kicks in next March.
Then there are the crime statistics: the Metropolitan Police chief has reported that violent crimes, including murder, have risen, and has blamed the harsh austerity cuts that have been the hallmark of this Tory government. In fact, some 20,000 officers have been sent home from London’s streets to effect savings, and this has taken a toll on crime prevention and detection. Unsurprisingly, this retrenchment has resulted in emboldened youth gangs escalating violent crime. On most days, there are reports of yet another murder by knife-wielding thugs.
In fact, things are so bad that few thefts now warrant police investigation, especially if nobody was injured during the crime. A friend with a farm in Hertfordshire reported a break-in into his barn where a number of tools and implements were stolen. His tractors were badly damaged as the thieves were unable to start them. When he went to the local police station to report the incident, he was told they no longer had the resources to look for the criminals. Even if the police are justified in maintaining this attitude, it hardly reassures the public who once regarded their cops as the finest in the world.
News from Trump’s America is now a matter of alarm and despondency. The thought that the president of the Western world’s is cosying up to Putin’s Russia is deeply alarming to large sections of the public, especially following the alleged poisoning of four Brits by Russian intelligence agents. Trump’s trade war is also causing concern, along with a range of his bizarre words and policies.
Above all these factors hangs the dark Brexit cloud. With no agreement with the EU yet in sight, and the ruling Conservative Party deeply divided on a firm exit strategy, the real possibility of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal is becoming more likely by the day. Various doomsday scenarios of the resultant chaos have been sketched out, and they all look pretty bleak. Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary who has replaced Boris Johnson, has gone to the extent of hinting that families should consider stockpiling food to get over the early phase of Brexit. To older Brits, this is a reminder of the war years when rationing was first introduced, and remained in place well into the Fifties.
One reason so many in Britain voted to leave was the messaging they were getting from Brexiteers like Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. One element was that the UK would save 350 million pounds a week by leaving, and this money would go to the cash-strapped National Health Service. This claim, long since rejected by Theresa May, overlooked the fact that much of the UK’s contribution to the EU budget came back in the form of farm subsidies, infrastructure spending and environmental protection.
Another claim that resonated with older voters was the promise to restore Great Britain to the greatness it had achieved as the world’s leading colonial power when its colonies spanned the globe. There is a lot of nostalgia for the good old days when the Brits ruled supreme, and that dream was rekindled by the Brexit campaign. Now that bad economic and political news has shattered this fantasy, many have had second thoughts about leaving the EU. Recent polls suggest that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, a majority would cast their votes against leaving, if they were given the choice. The discourse has therefore shifted to the possibility of a second referendum. In this scenario, voters would be given choices from among the options worked out during the talks with the EU’s negotiating team. But this would only be possible after a vote in Parliament, and there is no stomach there currently to negate the results of the disastrous referendum staged by David Cameron two years ago.
Britain now realises that without the backing of the EU and the US, it could fall between two stools, and see its global influence shrink to insignificance. Since the Second World War, it had decided it needed strong links with Washington to be able to punch above its weight on the global stage. Now, on the verge of severing ties with the EU, it has discovered that the Americans are fickle friends. Suddenly, Brits fear they now face an uncertain future without powerful allies. Even Nato is now no longer a partnership that guarantees security, given Trump’s constant criticism.
Many countries go through periods of angst and introspection. France is especially prone to this questioning of its values and ideals, with philosophers like Sartre making it the main thrust of their oeuvre. Brits are generally more phlegmatic, and prefer to tackle issues rather than dwell on them. But these days, gloom and doom prevail. Even the current heat wave, with its threat of higher food prices, feeds into the prevailing mood.
How long this self-doubt will last, and how it shapes the future remains to be seen. But if it does somehow alter the referendum result, it will be seen by future generations as a positive thing. Meanwhile, Brits can rejoice in their thrilling victory over India in the recent nail-biting Test match.
Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2018
