Advertisement
Outside In | Brexit is a disaster, but Theresa May is magnificent in her ability to keep calm and carry on
- David Dodwell says he may not agree with the British prime minister, but has come to admire her patience, resilience and focus on her country’s best interests
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
I have, for over a year, studiously avoided the British national catastrophe we call Brexit. As one of Theresa May’s derided “citizens of nowhere”, I have kept my counsel, and watched in sadness over one of the most brutally challenging and counterproductive political negotiations of our lifetime, pondering over the perverse shortcomings of democratic politics that have facilitated such self-harm.
I have put aside the moments of naive wishful thinking that have, from time to time, suggested that the nation of my birth might somehow snap out of its consensus over the inevitability of Brexit, and am reconciled to May’s pilgrimage this weekend to the special European Union summit to endorse a “soft Brexit” deal that in four months may seal Britain’s separation from the EU.
Just as I was for a time wishfully thinking that Britain’s electorate might somehow reverse the June 23, 2016, referendum decision, so I still believe that May is indulging in wishful thinking when she talks of her vision of “a once-in-a-generation chance to build a new future for our nation: the chance to shape a stronger, fairer country” and be “a true global champion of free trade”.
Advertisement
Whatever May’s optimistic words, I see a country profoundly divided. Despite the crude conclusion of the 2016 referendum, I see the young, the professionals and most people in Scotland, Northern Ireland and London still wishing to remain in the EU. I see the old, the less well-off and those living in small provincial towns still supporting Brexit in order to “take back control” – code for stopping immigration and nostalgically restoring the British empire.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x