I didn't do it because of any attachment to the European Union, I voted that way because it was the sensible option. I thought it was rash to make such a momentous decision in the fevered atmosphere of a viciously partisan referendum. I argued tooth and nail with friends, family and anyone who cared. I was utterly convinced of my righteousness. Common sense would prevail, I was confident...
Imagine my anguish when Remain did not prevail. It struck me like a physical blow. In a fit of pique I decided to ignore politics until Brexit happened. Nothing else mattered until it was finished. I was disgruntled, but I accepted it. So I waited.
General Election 2017: The main British parties both commit to delivering Brexit in their manifestos.
Over time the pain lessened and was replaced with anticipation. Britain's future and the path of its people was no longer a single highway. It had become a road-map, a plethora of paths from which we would choose. An independent, British future beckoned us all. So I waited.
March 2019: May's Deal or no-deal?
When our politicians failed to do what appeared perfectly straight-forward i.e. Leave, I was non-plussed. When the 'deadline' was delayed once and then twice I was flummoxed. When it was pushed back to October, a full six months after we were meant to have left, I knew then that something was horribly wrong.
It dawned on me that our politicians might not do this.
They are betraying Brexit. They are cravenly and openly defying the democratic will of the British people. If you don't believe it I'm not surprised. I found the notion that our political class, minus some exceptions, would actively go against us is hard to fathom. Yet we all know subconsciously that these politicians have always pretended with us: The way they dodge questions, the way things happen despite widespread opposition (e.g. The Iraq War), the way promises are routinely broken. But ultimately we elect them to run the show, so we let them.
However, failing to leave the EU is the final ignominy. It is directly and obviously contravening the will of the British people. Every second we remain in the EU is treachery grown larger. They are betraying us all! If you doubt it now, what will you think if we haven't left by November? What will you think if we haven't left by the next General Election in 2022?
The notion that our government is accountable to us is in the balance. This juncture in our history is the most important since 1939. It's that fucking serious - no joke. I cannot convey strongly enough the gravity of this crisis. We all face this question: Who rules this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? Is it several hundred Oxbridge graduates? Is it several thousand foreign bureacrats?
No my friends, it is us. But we have to prove it. We must fight for Brexit to demonstrate that we, the people, are in charge of our destiny. Because if we give up, if we allow our votes to become meaningless, then we become slaves. This cannot be allowed.
Rule Britannia.
