Democracy has failed.
All democracies face political challenges – after all, those challenges are the very basis of democracy itself. However, it is markedly more extreme in democracies where the executive authority depends on parliamentary majorities. I say the British Government did much better during the 2016-2022 period than reported in the press or than those on the continent.
A government is more than one person. The fact that both Johnson and Truss fell from power without impairing the U.K.’s focus on its Ukraine objectives is a key point regarding the underlying strength and resilience of Britain’s place in world affairs. There is no credible argument that any other European government is currently doing better in international matters.
True, the British pound fell during the tumult and uncertainty of Truss’ government, but has anyone noticed the euro is still below parity with the dollar? Some people argue that the UK economy has benefited from Brexit, as it has spurred businesses to invest more in the UK and create jobs. However, most economists believe that the overall effect of Brexit has been negative and that the UK economy would have been better off if it had remained in the EU. The counterpoint to this, however, it that now free of EU restrictions, the government has the freedom to implement the changes required to recover the economy.
The real trouble in the U.K. is the unwillingness of many Brits (and Europeans) to accept the verdict of the 2016 independence referendum. The European Union and its members have significantly exacerbated this ongoing internal political debate seeking reprisals against Great Britain for exiting the EU.
The determination of many European political leaders to punish London is to discourage others from even considering breaking free. The prevailing mood in Brussels seems to be that the more unpleasant they can make it for the U.K., such as turning the Irish border question into a crisis, the better.
Within Britain, there’s now a ‘Donald Trump’ problem. The former U.S. president refused – and still refuses – to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election (notably, almost no other election outcomes, at any level, across the U.S. were contested).
Many British Remainers simply will not acknowledge that they lost in 2016. In Parliament and in the courts, Remainers tried to sabotage legislation implementing the Brexit referendum’s result and will not abandon hope of another vote. Even the many Remainers who publicly said that they accepted the results didn’t really feel it in their hearts.
Remainers continued adhering to the fiction that, before Britain’s formal exit occurred, EU treaties and regulations prevented London from negotiating bilateral trade agreements that could be brought into effect once full independence was achieved. This was poppycock. This was cock of the poppiest variety! The British people had announced, by their votes, that the U.K. was leaving. To accept being bound by requirements that were unenforceable and unreasonable in the circumstances tied Britain’s hands when it could have secured dozens of bilateral trade deals. The government wasted so much time appeasing the nay-sayers that realising genuine progress was hindered.
Democracy is a two-way street. Whether the outcome is the one you wanted, or goes against your entire way of life, to enjoy the freedom of living in this democracy means you accept the will of the majority. The damage done post Brexit, post Johnson, post Truss and maybe in a short time post Sunak, was not damage from the vote, but an inability of the minority to accept the democratic decision.