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All Hands on Deck: May Calls for Unity after the Triggering of Article 50 (30 March 2017)

Date: 30/03/2017
Duncan Lewis, Main Solicitors, All Hands on Deck: May Calls for Unity after the Triggering of Article 50

‘We are one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future’. So declared Theresa May in her statement to the Commons on Wednesday 29 March, the day the United Kingdom set sail, with the Union Jack flying high, into unchartered seas.

Having triggered Article 50, we will need to leave the EU in two years’ time, whether or not a deal has been struck, and whether or not the Union remains intact. As May warned, ‘there can be no turning back’. But fear not, we are told, Britannia is a ‘great global trading nation’*; unshackled, we are now free to rule the waves again.

This needs to be unpicked. May’s ‘great union’ comment above neatly reflects Karl Deutsch’s definition of nationalism ‘as a group of people with a shared misunderstanding of their history and a common hatred of their neighbours’. Many Brexiters were motivated by a rose-tinted view of Britain’s past, a nostalgia for a muscular empire, and a visceral discomfort in sharing sovereignty and jobs with our neighbours.

To call our history simply ‘proud’ ignores Britain’s Assad-esque suppression of the Indian ‘Mutiny’ of 1857, the use of concentration camps in the Boer War (1899-1902), the torture (including water-boarding) of civil rights activists in Northern Ireland, the ill-conceived and poorly-executed invasion of Iraq, and the continuing supply of weapons to human rights violators. As for our future outside of the EU, calling it ‘bright’ does not guarantee that it will be so. It is trite to mention that those with most vested interest in the future, the younger voters, chose overwhelmingly (75%) to remain in the EU.

May goes on to say that ‘as we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can – and must- bring us together.’ There are a number of problems with this glib call to arms. First, one does not face an opportunity, one faces a challenge. This is a case of obfuscation by euphemism. Second, what exactly are these shared values? According to Ofsted, which enforces the teaching of ‘fundamental British values’ in schools, these values are democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.

What makes these values specifically British? Surely, to designate them as British is to espouse the very narrow-mindedness that these values are supposed to limit? Do no other nations and cultures share them?

Moreover, can our Government legitimately claim to be guided by these values? British democracy took a battering in the lie-riddled referendum on the EU and the Government fought long and hard to prevent Parliament from having a say in the triggering of Article 50. As for the Rule of Law, the Government routinely neglects its own policy and violates fundamental human rights in its treatment of asylum-seekers and the most vulnerable members of our society. And so much for individual liberty. Our Prime Minister is a consummate illiberal who oversaw the drafting and passing of the ‘Snoopers Charter’, extending the reach of state surveillance in Britain in a way that would make Kim Jong-un proud. Indeed, China has pointed to this legislation to defend its own intrusive surveillance programme.

Finally, can we trust our Government to behave in respectful and tolerant way? Our ruling party has consistently shown that it will exploit xenophobia and islamophobia for its own ends, in Zac Goldsmith’s divisive mayoral campaign, in Boris Johnson’s derisive remarks on Obama’s Kenyan heritage, in Amber Rudd’s plan to force companies to publish lists of foreign staff, in David Cameron’s portrayal of asylum-seekers as a ‘swarm’ and in Theresa May’s billboard fear-campaign with posters on vans saying ‘Go Home Or Face Arrest’. Conspicuously absent, indeed, in this fourth ‘British value’, is mutual respect for those of different cultures, races or backgrounds. It is hard for many to share the values and ambitions of a Government such as this.

Many will be reluctant, therefore, to follow this particular Pied Piper, not knowing where she is going or with which principles she will be guided. There are too many unanswered questions. What will become of Scotland? Will there be a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland? Will workers’ rights be protected? Will the UK become a ‘bargain-basement economy’, as threatened, if negotiations with the EU fail? Will the UK’s 3 million EU residents be forced to leave?

May described the triggering of Article 50 as one of the ‘great turning points in our national story’, but those who do not share the nationalist, deeply illiberal narrative of Theresa May and her coterie will continue to probe and challenge the Government , even at the risk of being designated 'unpatriotic, pro-EU fanatics'*. The ship may have launched, but the crew remains divided.

*Lancaster House Speech, 17 January 2017
*As described by Richard Tice, the co-chairman of Leave Means Leave

Patrick Page, the author, joined Duncan Lewis as a caseworker in the Public Law department at Duncan Lewis' Harrow office. He specialises in immigration and asylum law and has been accredited as Level 1 Probationer Immigration caseworker.

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