The end of more than just EU membership!

The people have spoken. The UK is leaving the EU. 37.5% of the eligible voters said they wanted ‘independence’ from the European Union and so we enter the unknown.

I am not going to lie, I am immensely disappointed.

I have seen most, if not all, the arguments for leaving, taking back control of our borders, taking back control of our laws, getting rid of migrants, getting rid of Cameron, saving money, saving the NHS, even sticking out to the ‘establishment’. They are all flawed, but the one that annoys me most is the last one. We are now in a state of flux, an uncertain (at least) two years where everything is to play for and no one knows at what cost, and there are people celebrating because it’s a victory over the establishment. They could lose their jobs, they could find their savings are next to worthless (they may not, but they could… no one knows) but it’s OK, because the establishment had dinted pride. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!

The thing is, the problem, the thing that I find most upsetting is… I have never felt so disconnected from the country of my birth, the country I call home, the country I have started a family in. I am British, incredibly so… as far back as anyone has been bothered to trace my family have been British… but right now I don’t feel very British.

The political discourse throughout this referendum campaign has been disgusting. There has been no end of lies, muck throwing, name calling, all round nastiness from both sides. Neither side can take the moral high ground because they have been as bad as each other.
Remain used threats, financial fear, worst case scenario guesswork and out right lies to bribe the electorate, and they had leaders from around the world join in the threatening behaviour. Leave brandished the Remain campaign ‘Project Fear’ but we’re they any better?
Leave used racial fear mongering, imaginary numbers, vague optimistic guesswork options, and out right lies to drum up jingoistic nationalism… and do you know what’s is even worse? Both sides even managed to fulfill Godwin’s Law, comparing the each other to the Nazis. Seriously, this was supposed to be a grown up political debate about an important decision, and everyone was acting like children and internet trolls.

So a mostly uninformed British populace was asked to make a decision that even the most qualified and informed of experts didn’t have enough information to really know sufficient amount to make.
37.5% voted for leave, 34.7% voted to remain, and 27.8% presumably decided that they didn’t know enough or that neither side had been composed enough to gain a committed response from them, so didn’t vote. So leave won, but can’t claim the majority of the UK wants out (they will, but then why should we expect honesty from one half of the most deceitful debate I’ve known).

So this is the end of the UK in the EU (or at least the beginning of the end), some might say the beginning of the end of the EU. This has been the end of at least pretending to be respectful and honest in political debate.

Scotland voted to remain, and we’re told in their independence referendum that to stay in the EU they round have to stay in the UK. They were also told that staying in the UK was the only way to guarantee financial stability, but right now all bets are off, and there are no guarantees of anything right now, so the UK they voted to stay in doesn’t actually exist anymore. As such, there are moves afoot to find a way to keep an independent Scotland in the EU without the UK… oh and Northern Ireland voted Remain too, so there are even rumours about the good Friday agreement being at risk.

So this is the end of the UK in the EU, possibly the end of the EU, and possibly the end of the UK (as we know it).

This whole thing has brought out the worst in the UK. It has left my disillusioned, distanced, disheartened… dis… well just dis.

We can not claim to be a positive nation after that campaign. We can not claim to be tolerant with ‘those’ posters, or with actions like those shown by certain members of this ‘great’ nation of ours…

We can not claim to be any of the things that I hold dear, that I see as being a core value… which means that right now, I don’t think i can claim to be British… whatever my birth certificate says, whatever my passport says, whatever my hereditary says… This is not MY Britain.
Maybe it will be again, I genuinely hope it will… but for now I am a stranger in my own country.

I will not give up on MY country. I will continue to work with positive people, I will continue to do everything I can to make positive change, I will continue to fight for honesty, positivity, respect, dignity, and equality.

This is the end to many things, but this is not the end of hope, this is not the end of good people, and I know that I am not alone!

My thoughts on the #EUref and #Brexit

David Cameron has finished his negotiations on EU reforms, an agreement has been met, and a date has been set for the UK to go to the polls to choose whether we should remain in the EU or go it alone.

Up until now the Eurosceptics have been making all the noise, but between now and 23rd June the Europhiles will start shouting, and the war words will become somewhere between unbearable and tedious. So before I lose the will to care I thought I’d give my two penn’orth.

Now, over the next four months (have we really got to put up with four months of campaigning?) you will here all sorts of fairly predictable arguments. We should have control over our own laws, we should have control of our own borders, we should be able to refuse free NHS treatment/housing benefit/income support to non-nationals… We are better, stronger, safer in Europe, we will be affected by the EU whether we are in or out, so it’s better we be in so we have a say. Then there are the counter arguments, manipulated figures and out right lies. Oh and then there is the frustrated pedantic, that will get increasingly annoyed at the repeated use of Europe in place of EU – because we are voting on whether to stay in or leave a political union and not the continent, now amount of shouting will move our island to a different continent.

First of all, let’s be honest most of us hear these things and think “how can I trust a word out of your lying , manipulative mouths?”, secondly, realistically the things that are important with regards the EU are not considerations in the daily lives of most of us. EU membership won’t change when our bins are collected, whether pot holes are fixed, or if the bus service is any use. This makes the campaign quite awkward, especially since it is based on the new deal David Cameron negotiated for us – and frankly that deal is a sham. I am not criticising what the EU offered, I am not criticising David Cameron’s negotiating techniques (I can’t I didn’t see them), or even what he managed to win off the EU leaders  from his list of priorities… My criticism is with what his list of targets was in the first place! There is a LOT wrong with the EU – it is a behemoth of a political machine that has ‘evolved’ naturally and without big picture planning. It needs a major refresh, it needs some serious readjustment of ego’s, it needs streamlining, and it probably needs a Washington D.C.; a city-state with no national allegiance, that has the sole purpose of administering governance over the union… but that isn’t what he asked for, he asked for populist things pandering to the out leaning neutrals. Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense – he wants to win a referendum, but it doesn’t actually improve the monster we are voting about.

Sham reforms aside, it’s the part of the post where I get off the fence and give my opinion, and justify it. As I have said, the EU is an ugly beast, it is far from perfect, and if we are honest, it will probably never get close to perfect, because it has too many conflicting cultures and ideals… but we should stay in it!

Whilst I agree with some of the reasons the in campaign will trot out over the next 4 months, they are not my biggest reasons. There are other ways of keeping a lot of the things the in campaign laud about the EU, some of the out campaigns concerns are valid and are not being addressed, but there are two big things about the EU that I love.

I love the fact that if I want to go on holiday to France, or Spain, or Slovakia, I can buy tickets and go. I do not need to worry about applying for a Visa, I do not need to worry about health insurance, I can just decide on a whim to get on the train or ferry, and go. And best of all, if i love it and don’t want to come home, I can find a place to live, and a job, and stay… just like that, and just like the 761,000 Brits in Spain, or the 200,000 in France. No Visa, no complication, just move, like moving to another city in the UK.

Do you know what I love more than that though? Do you know the one thing above all else that makes me shout from the roof tops “We NEED to be in the EU!”? The genuine protection it affords me as a human being. David Cameron’s Conservative party have tried, and continue to try to erode our rights, to remove our freedoms, to overturn the fundamental protections that should be afforded to EVERY human being, not just westerners, not just Europeans, everyone. There is only one place that still stands up for us, and will hold the government to task, and that is the European Court of Human Rights. I am sorry, but I do not trust our government anywhere near enough to that up.

Is the EU perfect? no. Has the new deal improved it? no. Is it the lesser of two evils? yes. Do I have enough faith in the power hungry psychopaths and socio-paths that make up the ranks of career politicians to give them the freedom afforded from being untethered by the EU? Hell No!

The Politicians Are Wrong!

For years politicians have been making the same mistake, they continue to make it, and they’ve added a new twist.

We are all used to political campaigns full of promise, pledges and grand statements… And they usually involve telling us what we think or feel. All politicians do it, they tell us what we think rather than asking us, they tell us how they will fix the biggest problem we never knew we had while dismissing the concerns we hold close to our hearts.
And now they are telling us what our protest means.

This new twist is so subtle that I have fallen for it, propagated it, and committed the heinous offence of performing it. So firstly, I would like to say that I am unequivocally sorry!

Enough people didn’t vote in the 2015 general election that ‘abstained’ actually won the election hands down. The same happened in 2010. Politicians and political campaigners across the country have been fighting with the question “how do we get people engaged”, but they are doing it the same way they form policy.
They ask each other, and tell the electorate.

It is time this stopped. It’s time members of political parties, from grass roots to MPs, started listening.

“Staying at home isn’t telling politicians you’re unhappy, it’s telling them you don’t care!” You’ve all heard it before, some of you from me.

But I know better. I have heard you say the real reason you don’t vote, so why am I telling you what you’re saying? You know what you’re saying. The problem isn’t people not saying what they want, and it isn’t them not saying it the “right way”… The problem is politicians, party members and the politically engaged not listening. And what’s worse is, it isn’t because they can’t listen, it’s because they chose to hear what they want to hear!

Well, as far as I am concerned, that stops here and now.
As I have mentioned before, I am a member of the Liberal Democrats. They are a great party to be a member of because (as the name suggests) they are democratic. Properly, truly, democratic. Every policy, every decision is voted on by the party members. That gives me a voice, and I fully intend to use it.

Starting immediately I will work tirelessly within my local party to ensure we are doing politics right. Not for ourselves but for the people of Lincoln, Sleaford and North Hykeham. It’s time we listened, properly and in depth, and I’m bloody going to make sure we do!

As for every one else, I can’t speak for them… But I highly recommend you sabre rattle until they follow suit and listen to you. Not smile and nod as you speak then twist it to fit their narrative, listen.
Listen to your hopes.
Listen to your fears.
Listen to what turns you off politics.
Listed to what excites you politically.
Listen to what excites you at a fundamental level as a member of your community, this country, this planet.
And then take it on board and does something about it!

As per usual, these words are my own and can not be used as a gauge of other people’s thoughts or feelings. The use of emotive language should not be used as an indication of other people’s leanings in the subject matter, but only on my level of resolve. I am not psychic.

Open Letter to Karl McCartney MP

To : Karl McCartney
Subject : Held to account

Dear Mr McCartney,
I will not lie, I was disappointed you were reelected as during the last parliament I found you to be uninterested in what the people of Lincoln wanted and uninterested in the most basic of replies.
As you are my MP for another 5 years, however, I hope that this term will show you in a better light with regards representing the people of your constituency in Westminster. Let us not forget, THAT is what you are paid a considerable wage to do, and not, as your last term suggested, representing your Westminster party to your constituency.

With this in mind, would you accept that regular contact with your constituency is vital to you performing your job responsibly? Assuming you are a right minded individual, and you answered yes, would you put yourself in a position where you can be regularly held to account by the electorate?

I would very much like to hear that you intend to hold regular public events similar to the Lincoln hustings you refuse attendance, or a regular phone in show on a local radio station such as those held by Messrs Clegg and Farage on LBC. These, of course, are just two of many possible ways you can show yourself to be representative and held to account, and I am sure you are capable of coming up with your own preference. So long as such events are easily accessible and held in public, regularly, with notice, I am sure that the people of Lincoln will be happy.

Yours
Iain Baker

Disclosure: I am politically affiliated. As of the time of writing I am a member of the Liberal Democrats, and stood for election to the local council for Park Ward.
Disclaimer: the content of this and any other post are based on the feelings and opinions of the author, and unless otherwise stated are not representative of any other individual or organisation, including but not limited to; Liberal Democrat Party, present, previous or future employers, and WordPress.
Disestablishmentarianist: n. An opponent of an established order, especially one who opposes state support of an established church.

Russell Brand is a Pseudo-Intellectual tit, but he has a point!

We are approaching double figures in days left before the election, the main parties will be going on a PR overdrive to win our votes… And none of them will achieve that objective.

I am not saying no one will win in may, or that no one will vote, what I’m saying is no one will be persuaded to vote in one direction by the spiel coming out of the political machine. At best (in the parties eyes) they may be persuaded NOT to vote in a certain direction but losing the opposition votes is not the same as winning votes for yourself.

Some will be aware that I have been actively involved in politics in the past, and stood for local government, but not anymore. I am sickened by the political machine, and have no intention to prop it up.

I left school in July 1997, I was glad to leave, I hated it. Now, as an adult with a varied and some may say expansive experience base, I do not want to be involved in school yard squabbles and petty name calling… But that is all party politics has become.

When was the last time you heard a politician say “we have achieved abc and will build on it xyz” without it being accompanied with “unlike the opposition, who have done all this damage and have empty promises”?

The theory of making yourself look good by making those around you look bad works. It does. Competitively speaking I look good if you are made aware of the things those around me have done worse than me, but for how long? Only as long as it takes for one of them to point out my failings.
Standing above the baseline by lowering the baseline only results in one thing… Hitting rock bottom! And that’s what the politicians have done! You know they can’t get much lower, because Russell Brand and his inane shots of “Revolution” without any idea what that revolution would be, gets more public sorry than any politician.

What’s the solution? Engaging the young? Making voting mandatory? No! Making yourself stand above the rest by climbing higher! A race to the top is the only solution, there isn’t much lower the political baseline can get.

At the last general election, if everybody that didn’t vote decided to show there disillusionment by spoiling their ballot, “spoiled ballot” would have won by a landslide. Obviously spoiled ballots can’t be elected, but it’s the only way to get the message across that the problem isn’t apathy, it’s disgust.

So, is this the year of positive politics? Will we finally see campaigns based on “we can” and “we have”? No. Of course not, politicians are too far up themselves to notice what the people they represent want – besides the ” they can’t” “they won’t” “they broke” campaigns have already started!

We live in a democracy, and we are lucky to have the power to vote. We should all use it, and I ask, no beg, everyone eligible to vote please vote. Not for the party you family voted for, not for the past you always vote for..
Vote for the candidate with the policies that best fit your priorities… And if you don’t trust them or don’t feel any fit, still vote – just spoil your ballot. Create a new box for “none of the above” and tick that!

And to any politicians that have got this far without worrying this post off, please… Stop badmouthing everyone else, and start climbing! Show that you are better than the rest, not that they are worse than you!

The Take Away Message: Not What They Hoped

I finally got round to watching the BBC Debate on EU Membership pitching Nick against Nigel, Lib Dems against UKIP! For those that don’t already know, Labour and Conservatives were sent invites for Ed and David respectively, but they declined.

Now I have some fairly strong political views, a very particular view on right and wrong, and an appreciation of the grey ground in the middle. I have done my own independent research, using multiple sources with vast knowledge and experience in their respective fields, and have my own feelings on Britain’s membership of the European Union, and of the EU irrespective of Britain’s part in it. These views and opinions lead me to hope for one of the Mass Debaters to shine (Mass Debaters is the family safe way of saying it, right?).

I had hoped the debate would be a chance for the facts to come out, an education for the viewers and a chance for the British people to engage in politics, something that’s increasingly difficult!
I had hoped for these things but I didn’t get them!

The take away message from the debate was not on immigration, on financial security, national security, employment, crime, community cohesion… No, the take away message was far more personal!

I should point out at this stage that these are my opinions alone, and are based on my interpretation of the debate, not on any in depth knowledge of the debaters or personal interactions with said individuals… I think that covers my arse sufficiently!

Nick Clegg
This is a man that wow’d the nation in the pre-general election leaders debate… A man so adept at Mass Debating, he could have won the General Election had the vote been done X-Factor style during the shows. We can expect great things then, right?
So how did he come across as a disconnected career politician with five bullet points he had to stretch out over an hour? He didn’t answer the questions, he didn’t exude trustworthiness, and he seemed to be flapping under the pressure of Farage’s Barrage!

Nigel Garage
Many had mocked Nick Clegg for taking on Nigel, a man that can think on his feet and Mass Debate with the best of them… A brave man would take him on, so we should expect to see great things from him, right?
So how did he pull off smug, punchable, incurable p….lonker? The papers say he’s the kind of bloke you’d want to go to the pub with, but all I’d want to do in that situation is bottle him. His forced laugh was infuriating, his comments seemed desperate and unresearched, his Debating style was basically rude… And worst of all, from a guy that denigrates career politicians for not giving a straight answer, he avoided the questions as much as Nick!

So what was the take away message? Four leaders were invited, two couldn’t be bothered and the other two can’t be trusted!
What hope have we got when this is the best we can do… Let us never mock George Dubya again, what we have is no better!

Something needs to change, and fast!