Daily Times

With British politics becoming a laughing stock for the international community, it seems that there’s not much time left for Britain for securing a viable deal to sail through the menace called Brexit. By the end of next month, it would either end up in a dreadful no-deal scenario or there would be measures in place to delay the implementation of Article 50, the formal process for withdrawal from the European Union (EU).

Should the latter be the course of action, the British government would have to consider a second referendum. Subject to cross-party consultations, this may substantiate the demand for a Norway-style relation with the EU or remaining in current conditions as it did for decades.

However, the stakes are too high and there’s a risk of severe fragmentation that could divide the Kingdom along ethnic lines. Interestingly, the 2016 referendum graph shows that it was rural England and Wales which swayed the votes in favour of the Leave campaign.

When the Bretton Woods system and Marshall Plan came in place after the Second World War, the European states realised that economic integration would pave way for a supranational federal entity.

The Treaty of Rome in 1957 was the initiation of such plans which eventually made EU a powerful trading bloc by the 1990s when major world powers were on the verge to dominate the economic power structure. Ironically, Britain wasn’t made a full member until 1973 since the major stumbling block was French President Charles De Gaulle who foresighted its ‘non-serious’ attitude towards a pan European entity. Hence, consistently refused the British application for its membership of the trading bloc.

In Britain, the debate over EU membership since its acceptance had always trickled down to the fact that a certain lobby wished for the resurgence of policies adopted when Britain was a colonial power. This lobby also resented the way certain governments handled immigration and trading policies which resulted in inclusiveness and integration of diverse socio-economic and ethnic groups.

Indeed, the Irish backstop is a thorn on the side of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s inconsistent policies. Her ‘strong and stable’ mantra has miserably backfired, but perhaps she is entirely to be blamed. After all, the real architect of the Brexit was former PM David Cameron who’s hiding behind the shadows and refusing to admit the greatest blunder in modern Britain’s history.

Published in Daily Times, February 11^th 2019.