I’ve just been to vote. That isn’t a strange occurrence in a
Western democracy of course (notwithstanding frequently appalling turnout
figures). But this was an election I
should never have had the opportunity to participate in. Over the next few
days, all over the European Union, about 400 million people will have the
opportunity to vote for the EU parliament. But I took part in another vote back
in 2016, and the outcome of that vote (the EU membership referendum in the UK)
meant that I should no longer be a citizen of the EU and entitled to vote in
its parliamentary election.
For what it’s worth, in the referendum I held my nose and
voted to remain in the EU. I held my nose because there’s a lot not to like
about the EU. It could be argued that it is both a corrupt and corrupting
organisation. Its own auditors frequently have a problem with its accounts, and
have been consistently critical of both central EU institutions and member
states. EU civil servants and MEPs seem to be on a gravy train that is opaque
to public scrutiny and immune to criticism. And an insulated, self perpetuating
elite seem to perpetually benefit, while all over the continent all sorts of people
struggle to obtain life’s necessities. It is great at coming up with rules big
and small, but equally capable of bending or breaking them when it suits. Although
it should be all for one and one for all, the big states often seem to bully the
small states, the North exploits the South, the East bridles under the strictures
of the West, the French want to be in charge, and Luxembourg is. I get all
this.
But, many of these criticisms can be levelled at the bureaucracies
and politicians in the member states as well. And on the other side of the
ledger the EU has provided a forum for wide European debate about pressing
issues that is far superior to the way we used to settle arguments in this part
of the world. Many of these issues, like climate change or migration, or Trump
or China, are much better handled by Europe acting in concert. The EU has
brought real economic, educational and social benefits to many European states
which might have been much the weaker without them (with consequences for us in
the UK). It has brought direct economic and social benefits to the UK,
sometimes in the teeth of UK Government resentment and opposition (just look at
Glasgow’s experience during the 1980’s). By and large we’ve consistently
punched above our weight within EU institutions, and at least in financial
terms have got more out than we put in – particularly in science, technology
and education. The UK pushed for the single market and radical expansion of the
EEC which became the EU, having a major influence on the direction it took to
get to where it is today. Finally, at the time of the referendum what weighed
heaviest with me were the economic consequences of withdrawal. I confess the
importance of the common external tariff passed me by, but I heard and
understood the warnings about the consequences of being cut off from membership
of the EU single market. I always reckoned the land border on the island of
Ireland would be a problem. So I voted to remain.
And I was on the losing side.
I wasn’t on the losing side because all those who voted
leave were stupid or lazy. I wasn’t on the losing side because a majority of my
fellow citizens were seriously misled. I was on the losing side because for a
whole complex of reasons, that it is
pointless now to psychoanalyse, more people
voted to leave than remain – simple as. And now we all have to live with the consequences.
I think a lot of them will be bad consequences. But what kind of democracy do
we have if some small group gets to decide when we have to be protected from
ourselves?
We have a representative democracy where these issues should
have been settled in our representative institutions, primarily in the House of
Commons. The issues are complex, and needed to be debated and thought through
in a way that was never going to happen in a binary referendum campaign. But
the political class, whether because of lack of courage, or sense, or just
political morality, bottled it, and abrogated their responsibility. They gave
us a binary choice, and we chose. I might not like the choice, but that’s life,
and that’s democracy. Or at least it should have been.
For complex reasons, the politicians then compounded their
folly by conniving to subvert the choice made in the referendum. There’s not
really much to choose between the hard brexiteers and the remoaners, and all
the other splinter groups that have emerged. Giving us another choice will not
atone for their guilt. In fact, we did have a subsequent choice in a general
election, when by an overwhelming majority people did not vote for those saying
the referendum result should be ignored. That choice was an option on the
ballot, and very few opted for it. There’s plenty of blame to go around, and it’s
genuinely difficult to see any way forward, let alone one which is attractive.
So we’re stuck. And because we’re stuck in the EU, I had to go and vote this
evening.
It wasn’t difficult, and it wasn’t dangerous. I didn’t have
to join a long queue in baking heat and wait for hours. I don’t have any doubt
that my vote will be counted (although whether it counts is another matter). Things
were well organised, free and fair. It was a warm spring evening, and the staff
at the polling station were polite and quietly competent as they went about
their business. These are all things to be grateful for. I’m glad that once
again I got to do it. But I really shouldn’t have had to.
