The way forward
Now let’s get this straight. Donald ‘Slim Pickens’ Trump is the new President of the United States and already he’s behaving like a loose cannon, ruffling feathers everywhere, issuing executive orders destroying every aspect of the Obama legacy that appears on his radar, warning China of a trade war to come – and probably a real one over their artificial bases etc. being built in the China Sea – and announcing that America is pulling out of some ‘Pacific Rim’ trade pact. He’s declared war on the American media, his press secretary Sean Spicer has claimed (in defiance of all pictorial evidence) that more people attended (watched?) the Trump inauguration than they did any Obama one, and (cocking a big snook at the EU) he’s receiving Theresa May this coming Friday as his first official foreign premier invitee because what he really wants is to play golf with the Queen on the Balmoral 9 hole golf course as soon as this little old Scepter’d Isle can get its act together and arrange it.
Here at home, later today the Supreme Court is expected to announce that – without a Parliamentary vote – the Government cannot trigger Article 50 to commence the two-year Brexit negotiating process.
On Andrew Marr last Sunday that pompous twat Nick Clegg spouted on about how single-handedly – albeit together with ‘other sane and responsible’ members of the British Establishment – he was going to attempt to thwart the UK’s referendum result by any means at his disposal purely because he (and others like him) had a greater understanding and grasp of what was good for the British people than the British people did.
We’re also in the incongruous position of being lectured by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon – who wants Scotland to leave the UK, and therefore by definition also leave the EU – arguing that, under the Brexit negotiations, unless the UK stays in the EU single market, she reserves the right to call another Scottish independence referendum on the illogical basis that, if the Scottish people respond with a “Yes” then Scotland will have the right, not only to de-couple its carriage from the UK Brexit train, but to re-hitch it to the EU Eurostar version in some seamless manoeuvre the like of which has never previously been attempted, still less been achieved, in human history (at least, according to the websites that I visit, because I’ve looked).
Add to that the noises now coming from the basket case that is Northern Ireland that it may soon be able – courtesy of confirmation of the point in today’s Supreme Court ruling – to mount a legal action that will delay or even prevent the triggering of Article 50 because of its vote in favour of remaining in the EU … and also from Wales, of which the political ‘Establishment’, by which I mean the Plaid Cymru leader and her Labour counterpart (despite the Welsh electorate actually voting for Brexit), has now decided that it has the right to dictate to Mrs May what terms it would find acceptable and not acceptable … and you’ve got a right pig’s ear of a complex mess for someone to sort out over the next two to five years.
On the above points I have some brief early reactions.
Firstly, President Trump.
I’m wholeheartedly in favour of cynicism towards the political elite of world, not least those supposed ‘movers and shakers’ recently (or still) congregated at Davros to decide what we ‘little people’ should or should not be allowed to have as they discuss our destiny for us. Yet the one thing I’ll give Mr Trump is a little time – I’d hesitate to call it a honeymoon period.
I’m in favour of the staid old political applecart being given a thorough shaking up, if not being upset and turned over. Right now that’s what it looks like Mr Trump is going to do for a while – until either he achieves his ambitions or (more likely) ‘learns on the job’ either the hard or the easy way, or just gets taken away in a police van by the men and women in white coats.
American democracy is not perfect – whose is? – and it is an arguable position to hold that liberal America (and the Democratic Party if you like) is just a bad loser, just like the UK Bremoaner brigade.
Twelve months ago and more, many foreign observers, media vehicles and electorates around the world openly regarded Donald Trump as a Grade A chump – a bombastic clown who was inevitably destined to make a fool of himself, come last in the Republican nomination for presidential candidate competition and then remain forever a rich vein of satirical humour and a minor ‘crackpot’ footnote in US history. In short, a joke.
I bet some of the above are now wishing they hadn’t been so willing to come forward and express their opinions on him, just as people like me may be reflecting over their Sunday papers that – just occasionally – you should be careful what you wish for in terms of exposing ‘the Establishment’ to ridicule and destroying the smarmy condescending edifice that it has built for itself.
See here for a link to an opinion piece by Sean O’Grady as appears today on the website of – THE INDEPENDENT
Secondly, on Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and Brexit.
Let me get this straight. The respective populations are Scotland (5.3 million); Northern Ireland (1.8 million); Wales (3.1 million); England (53 million) and – for the sake of the example – Yorkshire (5.3 million).
Talk about the tail wagging the dog! There’s little point in crying over milk spilled a long time ago, but let’s be honest: entertaining UK devolution – and having a straightforward ‘In/Out’ Referendum on remaining or leaving the EU – were (perhaps leaving world wars aside, justifiable or not) two of the biggest political mistakes ever made in history of this country.
Taking Scotland and Northern Ireland first, because they can point to the fact that, geographically at least, their populations voted ‘Stay’ in the EU Referendum.
As a matter of principle, I’d let them. I’d even go so far as – in conducting the UK’s Brexit negotiations with the EU – making it a condition of principle that the EU admit both Scotland and Northern Ireland to the EU in their own separate rights. The EU can then take on (financial and other) responsibility for running them, or letting them run themselves. Ireland could become united it if wished – and this would seem to make sense because citizens on neither side of the Eire/Northern Ireland border want to have border controls. Why not make Ireland one country, surrounded by its own border of water?
And as for Scotland – as Rust readers will know – I’ve long held that England (sorry, the UK) would be far better off getting shot of it. Never mind what Mrs Sturgeon says Scotland wants, we should take the initiative. England should hold a referendum this summer on whether or not it wants Scotland to remain in the UK – I’d put £20 on the likelihood that 40 million plus Englishmen would vote ‘No’.
Look at the populations: Yorkshire has exactly the same number of people as Scotland and Yorkshire folk are far more productive and useful to the UK than Scotland ever was – just think of their cricketers. Apart from Mike Denness [and “Who he?” I hear you ask], how many decent cricketers has Scotland ever produced?
We could then build a proper Hadrian’s Wall – built by Scots navvies (they probably need the work) and paid for by Scotland, no doubt with EU funding assistance. What’s not to like?
I’m just offering these thoughts in case any UK policy wonks and politicians might welcome the assistance of someone who can ‘think outside the box’ a bit and thereby possibly come up with something ingenious that might work …