Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Tory Rank, File Taking Brexit to the Polls’:
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot.
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Brexit, England, and Saint George!’
Apologies from your diarist for altering Shakespeare’s immortal cheer. Are any willing to call me on it? Certainly not Theresa May. The Prime Minister is no stickler for the literal truth, having twice “postponed” Britain’s March 29 exit from the European Union. It’s a worthy reflection this St. George’s Day. Instead of dragons, however, watch for the foes of Britain’s independence.
Oh, they are legion. The worst such foes of freedom are those in Parliament, where they comprise some three-quarters of Westminster. MPs “stooped” and promised to abide by the 2016 EU referendum on whether to remain or leave. A majority of Britons voted to leave. MPs merely bided their time. That’s gratitude for you.
Again, in the 2017 snap election, both Conservative and Labor parties made manifesto commitments to uphold the people’s choice. Subsequent events proved their words hollow. Mrs. May’s passivity in the face of Brussels negotiators, agreeing to their timetable, concessions, and demand for financial compensation, gave the lie to her mantra that “Brexit means Brexit.”
Benjamin Disraeli had the measure of politicians’ mettle. While he showered praise upon Britain’s parliamentary system of government, he entertained no illusions about those who wielded power. “There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable,” Dizzy wrote with characteristic clarity, “for in politics there is no honor.”
With Brexit bravery in short supply in Parliament, who will prove the people’s paladin?
Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.
My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.
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