A Letter from England: January 2020

So the decision is made. On January 31 Brexit happens. After year of indecision and division the country seems to have found a consensus. 

Before December’s General Election we all seemed to be evenly divided on the matter. The result of the 1916 referendum—was it really so long ago—was almost an equal split 52% for and 48% against. What kind of Brexit did that imply? ‘Hard’ Brexit or ‘Soft’ Brexit? There was no consensus, and our politicians spent three years dithering. 

The population had become impatient. We needed a decision: one way or the other. Eventually we had a general election, and Boris Johnson was the only leader with a clear plan for Brexit. Others wanted another referendum, or to remain, or to continue dithering.

Of course Boris Johnson won—massively—and it will be his ideas that go forward. Everybody is glad that the uncertainty is over—even those who wanted to remain—and accept that we must all now work together to make the best of it.  The decision is made, so we must proceed.

There is still worry about a few matters. The difficulties with the Irish border will not be solved easily, and there is increasing pressure in Scotland for secession: in Scotland there was a majority for ‘remain’.

I hope now that Britain will stay friends with Europe, and that all our leaders will work towards a sensible deal. We don’t want to see previous mistakes repeated. The common fisheries policy has been very bad for Britain. Our fishing fleet has declined whilst Spanish and French ships have plundered our waters. That must change. There is a feeling that it was also a very bad idea to allow so many people from Eastern Europe to come here. They are nice people, but they have overwhelmed our schools, living accommodation and social services, and they accept lower wages so they take jobs from the indigenous population.

There is growing confidence that these important matters will be sensibly dealt with, and there is a growing determination to make a success of our new place in the world. There are certainly challenges ahead—hardships, possibly—but the country now seems to be ready to move forward.