Democracy Depends On It, by Alan Sked

The Brexit process is apparently entering its final phase although it is still possible that the prime minister will accept a very long extension or even revoke Article 50 itself. Nothing can be taken for granted. My own wish is that we leave with no deal since as Theresa May once said—though she almost certainly never believed it— no deal is better than a bad deal. 

And her own deal is extremely bad. It would hand over £39 billion, which legally we do not owe, to Brussels in return for a promise somewhere down the line of some sort of free trade deal. Meanwhile we would remain inside the EU economically for all intents and purposes but without any democratic representation. 

The Political Declaration, which accompanies the Withdrawal Agreement but which is not legally binding meanwhile commits us to surrendering our national defences to future EU control, as the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, and several of our most distinguished past service chiefs have pointed out. 

Some Remainers complain that the process has taken too long and that we need a second referendum. This is chicanery. The Lisbon Treaty lays down a negotiating period of two years and during that process the deplorable Mrs. May saw fit to lead a disastrous election campaign which lost her her parliamentary majority. 

As a result, she has had great difficulty in controlling the House of Commons. Meanwhile, the Remain majority in all the parliamentary parties and in the cabinet has gradually abandoned the promises it made to respect the referendum result. 

Even the blatantly pro-Remain Speaker, John Bercow, has joined in aiding and abetting Grieve, Cooper, Letwin, Boles and others in tearing up constitutional precedent and parliamentary procedure and allowing the Commons to take control of government. 

The last time this happened, in 1642, the result was civil war. More seriously, the prime minister herself has sidelined and double-crossed her Brexiteer ministers, leading to regular resignations, while allowing rabidly federalist civil servants (Olly Robbins was President of the European Federalist Society at university) to compose key policy documents and lead negotiations. 

Key cabinet allies in all this are Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, David Gauke, and Greg Clark, who are fierce Remainers and clearly want any deal other than May’s own to take us even closer to BRINO (Brexit in name only) and DINO (Democracy in name only). 

The result is that the Brexit process has been long and twisted with only 29 true Brexiteers holding out for a settlement that would actually give us back control of our laws, trade, borders and money, sustained by a very self-interested DUP. 

Yet these good folk—heroes in many eyes— will be blamed if May’s dreadful act of surrender is not passed and Brexit is postponed or lost. Meanwhile the very biased media (BBC and Sky programmes are dominated by Remain politicians and commentators) ignore events in Europe, where France is suffering civil unrest; where Germany, Austria, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Scandinavian member states, have all witnessed the rise of the Far Right; and where the prospect of a much-predicted world recession could destroy the Eurozone economy. 

Most people are unaware that since the start of this century the U.K. has experienced better growth than Germany and France (Italy has had none at all) and that despite Brexit the IMF predicts Britain will grow faster than Germany this year. Germany is about to follow Italy into recession.

We also have a rate of unemployment which is less than half that of the Eurozone. A few weeks ago The Times reported that more job opportunities would be available for British graduates this summer than ever before. We now have record employment. Whereas on the same day, Le Figaro in Paris had a headline lamenting how 3 million young French people lived without any hope of finding a job. 

Remainers do not seem to understand the true significance of immigration figures. For the last five years, between 100,00 and 400,000 young Europeans have been coming here annually to find work. There would only be a case for remaining in the EU if, on the contrary, 100,00-400,00 young Brits had to emigrate to the EU every year to find work. Is this not obvious?

The truth is that given all the contingency plans now in place, leaving the EU without a deal—as a plurality of voters now confirm in opinion polls— would be our best option. We could save £39 billion, would no longer pay a £10 billion plus annual contribution to Brussels, we could abolish EU tariffs and have cheaper food, clothes and footwear, and we could get rid of tons of EU red tape.

We could certainly subsidise any industries—including farming—affected by EU tariffs and we could sign trade deals with the USA, China and many other interested countries. But the Remain majority, which for reasons of sheer ignorance still sees EU membership as a boon—it is not only economically in decline but politically divided and in terms of defence and foreign affairs a bad joke—will do anything and everything to overturn the will of the people.

The inevitable result will be the undermining of democracy in this country and a fundamental alteration of the party system. The main parties will suffer most, the Tories most of all. Many people will give up voting. Others will never trust established parties again and give their support to new ‘populist’ ones—those without a record of lying to the people or betraying democracy.

I have just set up a new party—Prosper UK—which is democratic, moderate, centre-right and committed to regenerating the national economy, particularly outside London. Its website can be found at www.prosperuk.party and I hope you will visit it and support it. 

Our future can only be secured if we ourselves decide to change it. Apathy will lead to servility to Brussels. The likely betrayal of Brexit—the desire of the largest majority in British history— can only be revenged if the same democratic majority that created Brexit repudiates the present parliamentary parties and votes for parties that will redeem the result of the referendum. Democracy depends on it.

Alan Sked, Leader, Prosper UK; Professor Emeritus of International History, LSE.

Twitter: @profsked

E-Mail: a.sked@lse.ac.uk

Why Vote in the European Elections?, by Alan Sked

Last time about a third of the British electorate voted in the European elections. Two thirds did not bother. Most Europeans did not bother. Why should they have?

The European Parliament cannot change anything. It rarely knows what is going on. The unelected European Commission initiates policy, agrees with the Council in secret how to shape legislation and gets the federalists in Parliament to rubber stamp almost everything whether they are aware of what is happening or not.

The European Court of Justice will always paper over any cracks with legal approval later.

There is no official opposition in the Parliament. There would be no point of having one. It might conceivably vote out the Commission (this happened once) but most Commissioners would just return (they did last time) and the same politicians and bureaucrats would run things.

Party manifestoes in European elections cannot therefore make promises that can be implemented. There is no democratically elected government to change or toss out of office.

The EU is anti-democratic. It is run by people who failed at politics in their own states (Brittan, Kinnock, Patten, Mandleson etc.). Baroness Ashton, the Labour Party’s former quango queen, who heads foreign affairs, has never been elected to anything in her life.

When small states vote down treaties in referendums, they are forced to vote again till they get it right. The Constitutional Treaty which was voted down by the French and Dutch was, of course, altered by 5% and pushed through parliaments as the Lisbon Treaty.

Since these treaties are all technically amendments to the Treaty of Rome, they should all fail if they do not achieve the necessary unanimous vote. They should never be resurrected. People who oppose them cannot ask for new votes in states that vote yes.

Yet what Brussels wants, Brussels gets.

Recently that has included imposing technocratic governments to replace elected ones in Greece and Italy, and ordering these governments and others to pass precise legislation according to a precise timetable designed in Brussels and Berlin.

In any case, according to the Interior Ministry in Berlin, 80% of all European domestic legislation now originates in Brussels anyway. The leader of the EU Liberals, Graham Watson, put the figure at 75%.

The EU is also corrupt. Its expenses, salaries, perks and pensions are an affront to the European unemployed created by its failed single currency experiment.

Its accounts have not been signed off by the European Court of Auditors for at least eighteen years. If it were a  trading company it would have to cease trading.

Membership costs a bomb. According to independent cost-benefit analyses the annual cost of EU membership to Britain is about 4% of GDP –10% if opportunity costs are factored in. That is £40 billion or £100 billion.

But is the EU really necessary?

It represents a rapidly declining share of world GDP; has no defence or security profile; has no influence in foreign affairs; and is in demographic decline. Once Germany’s population goes down by 20% over the next few decades, its leading economy will be sunk.

So why keep this useless bureaucratic monstrosity? To stop war in Europe? The only threat to Europeans after 1945 was posed by the USSR.  That was deterred by NATO and the USA’s nuclear arsenal, not the EU.

To raise living standards? It doesn’t do that anymore. No, we need a post-EU Europe.

Please do not vote in the forthcoming European elections. The mainstream parties are peddling lies about the EU and its benefits.

UKIP, which I founded, has no reason to be there. Its previous MEPs have mostly been incompetents or charlatans, who play no constructive part in the parliament and have been corrupted by expenses.

Every true democrat should stay at home.