Britain Beware
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
A visit to the United Kingdom finds a palpable sense of buyer’s remorse in that there is uncertainty and apprehension on the potential fallout of voting to exit the European Union. Whitehall doesn’t even know where the signs for the exit doors are.
The apprehension is shared by college-educated Millennials, upper crust elites, Eastern European migrants, and minorities. There was no public clamor pressuring David Cameron to call for the fateful referendum of June 23, whose Brexit outcome has unsettled the island nation.
The United Kingdom is not just England. Its constituent parts include Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. All of these three wish to remain part of the European Union, most notably, Scotland.
A drive through Scotland gave ample reminders of its distinct entity, in terms of its history, landscape, heroes, and heritage. The roots of Scottish independence are deep, as depicted in the portrayal of 13 th century Scottish warrior Sir William Wallace, in the Oscar-winning movie, “Braveheart.” In the Scottish Highlands, there are sites commemorating battles fought between the Scots and the English, including the Battle of Culloden in 1746, where Scottish forces loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie were conclusively defeated. On the drive back from Scotland to England, in the village of Balquhidder, there is the grave of Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734), who resisted England’s hegemony. Soon after entering Scotland, there is a museum at Jedburgh devoted to Mary, Queen of Scots, who was later to be beheaded in 1587, at the order of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I, whose own mother, Ann Boleyn, was beheaded by Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII.
The 2014 Scottish independence referendum voted to remain within Britain. But, post-Brexit, if there is a follow-up referendum, the results may not be the same, this time under the leadership of Nicola Sturgeon, who heads the Scottish National Party. On the 2016 EU membership referendum, 62 percent of Scotland’s voters voted to remain part of the EU.
Within England, the anti-migrant populist demagoguery has fueled hate, leading to the beating death of a Polish factory worker in Harlow, near London. Eastern European migrants, mostly Poles and some Romanians, took advantage of EU-wide regulations to seek greener pastures in Britain.
Iain Duncan Smith, a former Cabinet minister, recently told the Sunday Telegraph that British jobs should go to Britons alone, and Brexit is a “phenomenal opportunity” that addresses EU migration that was “like having the front door shut and the back door wide open … now you get to regulate both doors.”
A report published on September 1 by Britain’s Electoral Reform Society on the June 23 referendum blames both Tory leader David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for failure of leadership. The report further urges a full spectrum “root and branch review of referendums, learning the lessons … to make sure the mistakes … are never repeated.”
A blunder similar to Britain’s was made in united Pakistan in December 1970, when general elections were held in a divided polity, allowing Mujib to contest elections under the secessionist 6-point platform. This, along with devious maneuvering by ultra-ambitious politicians, ensured the truncating of Pakistan.
Britain beware.
