Another chapter was added to the dark comedy of democratic destruction that is British politics last week when the House of Commons finally voted in favor of holding a General Election. This was Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s fourth attempt to gain support for what appears to be the only way Parliament will resolve their deadlock over Brexit. Dubbed by radical Leftist and outspoken anti-Semite Jeremy Corbyn as a “once-in-a-generation chance to transform our country,” this snap election will take place on December 12th, and will be the first election held in December since 1923.
While the British public are no doubt yearning for an escape from the spiraling national embarrassment of Brexit, they should be wary that December 12th could be disastrous for more than just Brexit. Unfortunately, despite this danger, the brutal reality is that a General Election is the only way some form of Brexit will ever be accomplished. British politicians have made it clear that they will not support the deals brought forth by former Prime Minister Theresa May or her successor Boris Johnson. In addition, they have also made it clear that they will refuse to support a “no deal” exit from the EU, where the United Kingdom would depart without some form of withdrawal agreement.
The only alternative to this macabre game of “Deal or No Deal”, other than a General Election, is to capitulate to the petulant and immoral demands of those who lost the original referendum in 2016 and hold new referenda - obscenely defined as a “People’s Vote” - until the “correct” outcome is achieved.
Those who celebrate this General Election as a lesser-of-two-evils when compared to a “People’s Vote” must be careful to notice two points. Firstly, this General Election is the direct result of the failure of the British political elite to perform their parliamentary duty, and the fact that an election is required to break the deadlock is undeniable evidence of their ineptitude, and nothing short of a gutless attempt to avoid taking responsibility. Secondly, and more subtly, the strategies being applied by “Leave” and “Remain” politicians as we approach this election are posing a long-term threat to the very soul of the next generation of Britain’s Parliament.
December’s General Election puts the Labour Party and the general “Remain” camp at a distinct advantage over both the Conservative Party and the “Leave” camp, despite the fact that “Leave” were the supposed victors of the 2016 referendum. This is because the General Election, which could cement the formation of Parliament until 2024, is being presented by both sides as a one-issue election...otherwise known as a referendum on Brexit...otherwise known as a “People’s Vote.” The only difference between a General Election and a second referendum is that the question at the center of the debate is undefined, meaning that voters are being forced to make a blind binary decision based solely on the promises of politicians who have proved themselves to be deeply untrustworthy.
This situation is made worse by an allegiance between many who are openly intent on overturning Brexit, whose advantage will be multiplied by the corresponding refusal of pro-Brexit politicians to form their own counter-allegiances. Three parties who vocally oppose respecting the result of the referendum - The Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, and the Green Party - have agreed to form an “electoral pact,” agreeing not to stand against each other in dozens of seats. This tactic has the express goal of consolidating a broad range of political ideologies under the sole banner of “Remain.” In truth, they are forcing voters to decide between Brexit and their fundamental political positions. The price voters have to pay if they choose Brexit could be that they end up supporting and being represented by a political party which in no way represents their actual viewpoints. In addition, the maximum number of seats each of these parties could possibly hold in parliament will be diluted by this allegiance, making compromise or coalition difficult.
Any “Remain” voters who do not want to support another party based solely on Brexit will be left with two sub-optimal choices: vote Labour or don’t vote at all. While the “Remain” camp is uniting, the “Leave” camp remains fractured after Boris Johnson turned down a similar electoral pact with Nigel Farage. As a result, the Labour Party will be celebrating the failure of Boris Johnson to counter the consolidation of pro-Remain parties, as well as the broad dismissal of the long-term impact of using a General Election as a pseudo-Brexit referendum, which will likely lead to a split between the Conservative Party and the Brexit Party.
The fact that Labour’s official Brexit position is patently absurd, with Shadow First Secretary of State Emily Thornberry admitting that she would negotiate a deal and then campaign against it in favor of remaining, is irrelevant. When it comes to Brexit, the negative legacy of Brexit is so ingrained in the British psyche that subsequent failure by the Labour Party would be nothing more than a continuation of the status quo, which could then be used to direct criticism towards the demonstrable failure of the Conservative Party or as further evidence of the need for yet another “People’s Vote” to take Brexit off the table once and for all.
Similarly, it doesn’t matter that the Labour Party have successfully purged their leadership of any moderate MPs, allowing their manifesto to become indistinguishable from the Communist Manifesto, or that Jeremy Corbyn is a raging anti-Semite who has openly supported revolutionaries and terrorists alike.
Because of Brexit, the undeniable characteristics which should disqualify the Labour Party fade into comparative obscurity, aided by the fact that Labour are the only party whose core base is not entirely fractured by Brexit. If the Labour Party are victorious in December, not only will the Conservatives have failed in delivering Brexit, they will have succeeded in delivering No. 10 Downing Street to an anti-Semitic Communist, and they will be responsible for all that happens to Britain as a result.