Tel. +44 (0)20 7287 4414
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Tel. +44 (0)20 7287 4414
Email. info@brugesgroup.com
The Bruges Group spearheaded the intellectual battle to win a vote to leave the European Union and, above all, against the emergence of a centralised EU state.
The Bruges Group spearheaded the intellectual battle to win a vote to leave the European Union and, above all, against the emergence of a centralised EU state.
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Bruges Group Blog

Spearheading the intellectual battle against the EU. And for new thinking in international affairs.

In War, Truth is the First Casualty

Jo-Swinson-Stop-Brexit

Make no mistake about it, we are at war, and it is one of the dirtiest wars yet fought, in which the truth has been hijacked by the 'Remainers' and twisted to suit their personal agenda. Look at what has happened over the last three years, and especially over the last three months: those who never wanted to leave have stepped up their campaign of lies and disinformation to the extent that they are now tying themselves in knots in their attempts to thwart the outcome of a democratic decision. A quick trawl through the evidence should be sufficient to convince most people of the Orwellian tactics that these people employ. May I take this opportunity to destroy a few myths that appear to have mushroomed over the last year?


1)The Liberal Democrats

To begin with, and at risk of sounding pedantic, how can the newly-elected leader of the Liberal Democrats (LDs) give speeches in which she says that it is her main objective to stop Brexit happening? On 3rd August she said: "If you want to have an election where voters have a chance to back someone who will try to stop Brexit, clearly the Liberal Democrat candidate will fit that bill…" (Woodcock, 2019). This suggests that all LD candidates will attempt to block Brexit; as she does not detail differences of LD opinion over Brexit, we must conclude that all LD candidates agree with their leader. On 27th August she implied that the whole of the LD party wished to stop Brexit from happening: "We've been very clear and campaigning for three years or more now to stop Brexit altogether…" (Hunt, 2019). In my naivety I had always assumed that a political party that called itself 'democratic' would above all respect the wishes of the electorate; this should mean that the LDs swing behind the Brexit process, yet the evidence shows that they are doing everything they can to stop it happening. I ask again, how can any party that purports to be 'democratic' go against the clearly expressed mandate of the electorate? It is time to acknowledge the LDs for what they are: a collection of liberal elites, who, as a consequence of their privileged backgrounds and education, assume that they know better than the electorate, and will do everything in their power to frustrate the outcome of the biggest referendum in the history of this country.


2)The Brussels 'Fifth Column'

This is a group of people (politicians, businesspeople, media people & organisations and others), who have been providing hope and support to Brussels for the last three years. The more they denounce Brexit in public, the more succour and hope they give to the EU leadership in its attempt to stop Brexit altogether. Rather than treating with the enemy, such people would better serve their country if they showed a united front, determined to enact the results of the referendum. This, however, is highly unlikely, as this group contains too many vested interests, and despite protestations about 'no deal' their real objective is 'no Brexit.'


3)The 'No to No-Deal' Group

These people are possibly cleverer than those who simply wish to stop Brexit, as they dress their opposition up as having the best interests of the country at heart. There are very few people who view 'no deal' as the ideal outcome: most (myself included) favour a deal with the EU. The problem, however, is in the detail of any deal: for example, the 'so -called' deal brokered by Theresa May would have left us in a worse state than had we not left at all – which is, of course, exactly what Brussels wanted … no wonder they are reluctant to change the terms of this now-defunct document! With one or two exceptions, such as the ERG, Bruges group etc, Boris Johnson the only politician who can understand that the only way to get Brussels to agree to a realistic deal is to threaten to leave without any deal – and in the process take our £39 billion with us. Saying that one opposes 'no deal' and telling the government to renegotiate only gives further strength to the EU, who conclude (quite rightly) that all they have to do is sit tight behind their 'Maginot Line' of inactivity, and we will eventually destroy ourselves.Furthermore, as I have pointed out previously (Swift, 2019), it is instructive to note that whilst this group will always tell us what they do not want (a 'no deal' Brexit), not one of them appears capable of detailing the deal that would be acceptable. The real reason of course, is that they have no intention of outlining any acceptable deal, as the only thing that is acceptable to them is to stop Brexit altogether.


4)The MPs

One other group - the worst and most hypocritical - is that of MPs who feel they know better that the people who interests they were elected to represent and have decided that we are to stupid/ignorant/ill-informed/bigoted/racist to fully appreciate the consequences of Brexit. They are determined to show us the light, despite the fact that the vast majority stood on a 'deliver Brexit' platform at the last General Election. It is this group in particular who should be very wary of the way in which they vote over the next month: voters must take note of this, and at the next General Election defeat these arrogant people, giving them a lesson in true democracy. I support Boris Johnson's tactics in dealing with them: closing the House (if only for a few days) will take away what Margaret Thatcher once described as the 'oxygen of publicity' for these self-important little people.


We must leave on 31st October, with or without a deal. Stand firm Mr Johnson, those who believe in real democracy are with you.


References

Hunt, Darren (2019) "Remoaner Lib Dem leader Swinson vows to put down 'triple-lock' to prevent no deal Brexit." Express (27th August); https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1170573/ Brexit-news-UK-Boris-Johnson-Liberal-Democrat-Jo-Swinson-no-deal-Jeremy-Corbyn-Leave-EU

Swift, Jonathan S. (2019) "Tell us what do you want." (29th May); https://www.brugesgroup.com/blog/tell-us-what-do-you-want-1-1

Woodcock, Andrew (2019) "Brexit: Jo Swinson calls on Pro-EU Tories to 'stand up' and block no-deal." Independent (3rd August); https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-jo-swinson-no-deal-brexit-eu-boris-johnson-a9037361.html 


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