We have a responsibility to not just be pro-EU but pro-European. Let’s never say no to re-joining the EU but prioritise laying the groundwork for a successful pro-active membership of the community.
Manchester City seem oddly un-British. I’m not referring to the nationalities of the players involved, nor where the club’s money comes from, but rather what they’re doing: Winning. They’re not the underdogs, nor the victims of bad luck, but rather predictable winners because of their world-leading teamwork, players and organisation.
This un-Britishness is certainly reflected in the media and popular response. A mixture of disbelief and almost disappointment, some journalists point out how City are ruining football with their predictable dominance correlating with their extreme wealth. Britain, historically a nation of underdogs, has somehow produced a monster of a team reminiscent of Imperial Germany in its superpower trajectory.
Most importantly, I would say, Britain is perhaps not used to such coherence, strength and success after years of internal division and geopolitical humiliation. No-matter one’s views of Brexit as a policy, it wasn’t executed very well. Brexit has contributed to Britain’s economic troubles resulting in the insecurity of millions, while a divisive discourse paints Britain as the victims in an adversarial relationship with Europe.
Yet it wasn’t always like this. It wasn’t long ago that Britain was not just European, but a European leader in its values and foreign policy. No matter how sickening he was to some people, Tony Blair demonstrated a superstar-like energy as prime minister. Perhaps not quite like Manchester City now, Britain was definitely a European force to be taken seriously.
So I think it’s safe to say that, like most people, I am not so much upset by leaving the EU as by what Britain has become. No-long is Britain the underdog, but rather the sick and spoilt child of Europe. Politicians and media exploit real lived insecurities and undermine Britain’s sense of direction.
That is why I think any party’s priority should be in restoring that sense of direction. Not only do I think it near-impossible to re-join the EU right now, but I would hate for it to be based on the wrong arguments.
This means not only re-building a positive European view of British identity, recognising Britain’s role in creating modern Europe and vice-versa, but also enacting concrete policies that address the lived insecurity that millions face. Let’s leave the idea of re-joining the EU open yet prioritise addressing peoples’ most pressing issues.
More than a tourist destination, we can help people see the value of Europe and our place in it, daring to be British, European, and International. We should recognise the multitude of cultures and backgrounds that make-up our ‘team’, while addressing the insecurities that many feel as a result of economic turmoil and lack of support.
The European project is also a British one. Let’s rediscover our sense of direction and our positive underdog spirit. Britain’s toxicity is not our inevitable future, but we must address it before re-joining the EU.
* Tom Davies is the President of the UCL (University College London) Liberal Democrat Society for 2023-24 and a student at UCL and Sciences Po Paris.
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I was thinking about Brexit this morning while delivering leaflets, as you do, and I decided that on balance it was probably the best outcome. Because, had it gone the other way, we would have had another 7 years of Farage getting a lot of air time, Mr Johnson as Tory leader a bit earlier than we did, and the right wing media blaming everything on the gnomes of Brussels. It’s now blindingly obvious that the problems in the country, ie nothing works, are created by our ruling class, and ennabled by those who think their fake patriotism and 3 word slogans are a good idea. Just possibly we’ll start to do something about it, rather than blaming somebody else.
“Brexit has contributed to Britain’s economic troubles resulting in the insecurity of millions”…
It wasn’t that great prior to 2016 …For many communities EU membership didn’t make one iota of a difference in their lives – not one jot …Insecure work , poverty pay , zhc, were the norm back then & now .. Nothing changed for those communities in or out – the status quo was never a good sell …Who can blame them for voting to leave – fom a one way ticket , there was never any deep affection for the EU for millions of British voters – woeful EU election turnouts reiterates that …The only time they came out in force was when given to opportunity to leave …Sad as it is for many in the party – rejoining is generations away …And if Eurozone status was conditional then – never …
Er, NO! Even a 51:49 the other way would have quieted the Europe question for a generation. Johnson wouldn’t have become PM without Brexit. Perhaps we can start thinking of the benefits of a global nuclear war?
I’m surprised at the suggestion of “Britain, historically a nation of underdogs, “
Really? I struggle to think of any time in the UK’s 316 year history when Britain has been viewed as ‘a nation of underdogs’. First into the Industrial Union, creator of an empire that ruled a quarter of the planet, encapsulated by the words ‘rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves’…not much suggestion of of an underdog in any of that.
Britain’s toxicity is not our inevitable future,..
“Toxicity”? The only “toxicity” is in the heads of remainers who grasp at any pretext to talk the country down. Since regaining our independence from the EU, the UK’s international standing and influence has grown substantially…
‘Gulf Nations on the Rise in Global Soft Power Index 2023 – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Climb in New Rankings’ [March 2023]:
https://brandfinance.com/press-releases/gulf-nations-on-the-rise-in-global-soft-power-index-2023-uae-saudi-arabia-qatar-climb-in-new-rankings
‘Global Soft Power Index 2022: USA bounces back better to top of nation brand ranking’ [March 2022]:
https://brandfinance.com/press-releases/global-soft-power-index-2022-usa-bounces-back-better-to-top-of-nation-brand-ranking
Latest polling Redcliffe and Wilton has it 61% to re-enter, 39% to stay out!
Remove the 11% Don’t Knows and it is 55 – 34.
If the return vote hits 66% then another Referendum after the election is almost unavoidable.
Given the Party’s perfectly clear, democratically adopted, policy of getting closer to our EU neighbours, possibly re-joining at some time in the future, it’s a disgrace that our leader is afraid of promoting Party policy. He should either start shouting about improving our relationship with the EU or make way for a leader who will.
Some rather confused contributions here, of which the last two appear to be among the exceptions. Brexit was always a flawed policy. No one is talking of rejoining the EU now. The issue now as @davidfranks suggests is getting closer to our EU neighbours to mitigate some of Brexit’s damage.
Taking a slightly different angle, the best thing we can do in the next few Years is to do The Tories as much damage as possible in The General Election. On this front things are going quite well – an average of the last 6 Polls puts The Conservatives on just below 26%, they seem to have dropped 2% in a Week.
Manchester City are winning because they use their massive wealth better than most, but they have massive wealth due to a sports-washing project. Chelsea have in recent history won due to an oligarch’s massive investment and in past season, despite being a disaster, were never in trouble of being relegated because of wealth inequality. An interesting relationship with Saudi Arabia is now protecting Chelsea from awful recent spending.
German football teams are largely struggling to be successful on European/international stage because they don’t want to be so open to wealth from questionable sources.
I’m not sure the point of the football analogy in this post. The idea that many are against Man City because they’re winning is a disappointing if true and ignores several journalists who admire the football but have concerns regarding where the money has come from/what happens to human rights in those countries.
Maybe the point is that through existing the EU we’re no longer a destination for dodgy wealth? But that doesn’t seem right. Or that those in charge of what to do with the dodgy wealth are acting on poor ideas? British identity over 40 years or so has been Thatcherism while ignoring our issues through tales of “blitz spirit” which has created horrible, disjointed mess vulnerable to massive wealth inequality. Maybe we’re Oldham FC?
@nick. Maybe no-one is talking about rejoining NOW, but perhaps they ought to be.
Most sensible commentators agree that Brexit is severely harming the UK, but don’t go to the obvious next step, ending Brexit.
Rejoining the single market and the customs union would of course be a welcome first step, but it would put the UK is the position that Brexiteers wrongly claimed we were as EU members, namely rule takers under the thumb of Brussels and not rule makers, but that is exactly what we will be unless we rejoin.
Sadly, I agree with David Franks in respect of the leadership. If we are not going to speak out for closer links leading to rejoining, then who will? There is a gaping void in political discourse in the UK, namely the issue of Europe and rejoining the EU. I hope that autumn conference speeches will spend rather longer than the odd sentence on this vitally important topic.
“If the return vote hits 66% then another Referendum after the election is almost unavoidable”….
Really – who’s going to call this ? …
Both Labour and the Tories would need to be in agreement in rejoining – can’t see that happening anytime soon … Brexit is here to stay for the foreseeable.
@ theakes and @ Martin Gray. Just as a point of information. As long ago as August last year, the Glasgow Herald reported an opinion poll (with accompanying article by Professor John Curtice) that 69% of the electorate in Scotland would vote to rejoin the EU if given the opportunity.
If Labour have a landslide and 66% is reached seems straightforward to me.
Jeff says “Since regaining our independence from the EU” totally ignoring the fact that if we had lost our independence in the first place, we would not have been allowed to hold a referendum (unlike Scotland which has been denied its right to hold a second referendum on independence) and then leave the EU.
Jeff provides links to Brand Finance a PLC consultancy registered in England and Wales. One of the communications directors is Michael Josem, an ardent Brexiteer, who has described the EU as “a mafioso organisation”, so I would view any information provided by this organisation on its website as lacking in authority and motivated purely to increase business and making more profit in keeping with its core beliefs. As birds of a feather flock together, it is probable that other members of the consultancy also tend to lean towards the Singapore-On-Thames Britannia unchained Brexiteer philosophy.
Theakes considers that 66% is a tipping point that makes a new referendum unavoidable. The point to me is that I reluctantly acknowledge that there will have to be a new referendum.
Not everyone believes this, some would rather resist any more referendums, but I cannot see this as practicable neither within the UK or amongst the EU states which would have to ratify any substantial close relationship with or even accession to the EU.
If we do accept the need for a referendum, we should press for one sooner rather than later. Of the little Brexiters (some of whom pop up on these pages) have, more than anything else they look to the 2016 vote as their key justification. An EU referendum would effectively countermand the 2016 vote and allow a reset towards integration with towards the greater part of Europe.
An obvious difficulty is that the UK is not in a position to demand accession to the EU, so a referendum would need to be more general mandating negotiators to forge a closer more collaborative and more cooperative relationship with the EU.
I set out my arguments a few months ago here: https://liberaldemocratsluxembourg.wordpress.com/2023/02/22/liberal-democrats-should-be-campaigning-now-for-an-anti-brexit-referendum/
Labour winning a landslide isn’t relevant: Labour are not in favour of going back into the EU.
“If Labour have a landslide and 66% is reached seems straightforward to me”…
So labour win a landslide & then do a complete 360 and call a referendum on rejoining the EU …Fantasy stuff.
I seem to have struck a nerve!
What Labour say now and what they will do with a landslide are two different things.
@theakes “Latest polling Redcliffe and Wilton has it 61% to re-enter, 39% to stay out!
Remove the 11% Don’t Knows and it is 55 – 34.”
I’ve not looked at the detailed figures for this poll, but I would caution against the assumption that “Don’t Know” splits proportionally between In and Out. It usually also includes “Won’t Say” which I suspect includes a disproportionately large number of Outs.
In 2016, I thought that Remainers were similarly misinterpreting polling data so I voted to remain in the EU but I bet on Brexit! I believed the figures hid significant numbers of shy Brexiteers for whom the media coverage might well have made them feel the question was “Do you want to remain in the EU or do you want the pollster to think you’re an old, uneducated racist?” ! 😉
Also, it looks like the polling about how people would vote if there were a referendum is further muddled by whether or not they believe there should be such a referendum! (https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/joining-or-staying-out-of-the-eu-referendum-voting-intention-17-june-2023/).
Though it might all be academic anyway since Labour and the Lib Dems don’t look like they’ll approach an election campaigning for rejoining or a referendum (quite the contrary, and a policy of making Brexit work seems like a double-edged sword) so it could be quite a while before a government has a mandate for either.
@ Tom,
“….. just be pro-EU but pro-European.”
The implication here is that there is a difference, but then you go on to use the words pretty much synonymously as far as I can make out.
I would agree with you that there is a difference. Europe in a geographical term covering the area of land between the Iberian Peninsula in the West and the Ural Mountains in the East. I’m not quite sure, though, how we can either be pro a peninsula or a range of mountains. Maybe towards having friendly relationships with the people who live there?
Just a reminder that most Russians, all Norwegians, the Swiss and other non-EU residents, live in Europe. If we are talking about “toxicity” what about them? Not that I’m saying that any of them are “toxic” because of the EU lack-of-membership issue but I suppose others might disagree. Another reminder: The good people of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Monaco etc were never willing to even give the EU a try in the first place. I don’t remember anyone ever calling them out for being “toxic” even when we were in the EU ourselves.
Hi Theakes,
it’s not that you’ve struck a nerve, simply that you are being unrealistic.
The chances of the EU letting us rejoining the EU or Customs Union or Single Market are zero unless the Tories are onboard too. The reason is that the EU will not want to go through the effort of readmitting us to any 3 of the above if there is any risk the Tories will take us back out. The effort and risk of further disruption is just too great.
The old phrase “Never say never” may well be relevant here.