The Effect of David Cameron On The BREXIT Referendum

Much has been said about the possible exit”Š-“ŠBREXIT”Š-“Šof Britain from the European Union and it regularly been repeated that this issue will be democratically decided, once and forever, by a referendum on the issue on 23 June. That is not true, for several reasons.

First, Britain is not a democracy. David Cameron’s Government has taken over the Electoral Register through the 2013 Individual Elector Registration and Adminstration Act (2013 IER Act) and has implemented that Act so as to remove the vote from millions of electors who are unlikely to vote Conservative. To refer to the plentiful evidence which illustrates this, look up:

https://medium.com/@georgetaitedwards/david-cameron-s-partisan-gerrymandering-of-the-british-democracy-4fb1d51f3ab4#.d91m6qoyz

Second, that issue has been largely ignored by Britain’s media who have failed to behave as a free press. Britain has for many decades had a right-wing press, but the few left-wing newspapers (such as the Guardian) have recently lost the willingness to join up the dots for the electorate. The Times under Rupert Murdoch’s leadership has lost its centuries-long position as the paper of record. The BBC has, as the panel on Not the Nine O’Clock News have commented, got a licence to protect.

The Telegraph has the agenda of supporting the Conservative Party no matter how elitist, racist, misogynistic and divisive that party becomes. The preservation of British democracy is not a priority for the Telegraph. In every election since 1951 the percentage of the vote given to the Conservative Party has declined, except for the gerrymandered 2015 election. The Cameron Government only came to power because of the 2013 IER Act removal of millions of non-Conservative voters from the parliamentary electoral register.

The reason for BREXIT lies deep in the character of David Cameron. Margaret Thatcher had many faults but she knew that she could not remove the third pillar of the welfare state”Š-“Šthe post-war social contract providing minimal but real benefits for the poor and disabled, including the continuation of the NHS”Š-“Šbecause any attempt to do that would result in her party losing more voters. And she knew that deep divisions existed in her party over Europe, and avoided that issue for the sake of preserving some unison in the party.

But David Cameron has no such qualms. He clearly has the poorest judgement when compared with any British Prime Minister of the last century. He has ruled by division, and has destroyed the full functioning of British democracy by introducing the 2013 IER Act, creating a Conservative electorate as a legal voter subgroup within the potentially much larger number of legitimate parliamentary electors. He has supported his friends”Š-“Šthe press persons who have behaved illegally, and others”Š-“Šuntil it became impossible for him to continue to do so. His attempt to settle the Conservative Party though a vote about EU membership now looks very likely to backfire.

Above all, David Cameron does not realise the extent to which he is virulently hated. One brave young lady has tried to make this clear to him but although he was visibly shaken by her criticism, it was like water off the proverbial duck’s back. See:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/youve-f-every-f-thing-8160029

That hatred would matter less if the BREXIT issue was not being conducted as an issue of personalities. Many people are voting for BREXIT because they hate David Cameron and are opposed to everything he stands for. Their reaction to BREXIT is conditioned by their virulent hatred of him and not by any rational consideration of the relevant issues. That is not a minor matter.

The actions of Cameron has made xenophobia and racism more respectable, as the most recent UKIP poster illustrates. The BREXIT vote is reliant on that factor. Some Scots are voting for BREXIT because they think such a vote will get rid of the Cameron government and guarantee another independence referendum, so a BREXIT vote in their view offers a short-cut to Scottish Independence. It is a very paradoxical way to vote.

As Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader, has commented

“The time has come to brand the “Brexit” campaign for what it is”Š-“Ša bid for a right-wing Tory takeover of the reins of power in the UK and to dismantle the hard-worn social gains of the last few decades.”

The BREXIT vote does not offer any hope for the better economic management or improved prospects for the United Kingdom. No matter which way the voters vote, there is no likelihood of a better future for the UK at present because neither the Cameron Government nor any likely post-BREXIT government have the slightest idea about how better to manage the United Kingdom economy, because their only priority is the City of London and the financiers, and not the real economy.

The five year rule which gives British Governments the right to continue ruling, despite any failure to have a majority in a vote of confidence in the UK Parliament, is going to be fully tested no matter how the BREXIT vote goes. What we now appear to be witnessing is the final bitter breakup of the Conservative Party into two warring factions, neither of which have any care for the continued integrity of the United Kingdom but which are only interested in victory for their point of view.

Not a happy prospect.

© George Tait Edwards 2016

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This post was written by George Tait Edwards