Sanity Television

Tonight there are more moves in Parliament to try to resolve the difficulties of Brexit. Ideally, we shan’t leave the EU at all, but leave or remain, the fallout will continue for years, probably decades. The referendum revealed schisms, rifts so deep in our social fabric they make the Grand Canyon look like a ditch. If we leave, the campaign to rejoin will begin at once; if we remain, the campaign to leave will begin all over again. The EU has been our whipping boy, our scapegoat, our blame hound. You could be forgiven, listening to some virulent leave supporters, for believing that the UK has had no say in EU legislation for the past forty-seven years.
That meaningless yet emotive phrase, the will of the British people, has made a recent reappearance. It is all profoundly depressing. The Labour Party wants a general election. I’m with Brenda of Bristol on that one. I’m not all that keen on a second referendum either. Our positions have become so entrenched we could have a similarly narrow result to leave, which leaves us just where we are now. Companies are leaving the U.K. the damage has been done. But it can be stemmed.
I’m no fan of Tony Blair, but I do agree with him that we elect our MPs to work for us, and having looked at the consequences of leaving the EU, I have little doubt that a cross party consensus would agree that we should cancel the whole shebang.
But we don’t have a cross party approach to Brexit. Negotiations have been carried out on the old tribal lines. Which is nonsense, because Brexit cuts across parties. There are people in both main parties who are passionate leavers, people in both main parties who are passionate remainers. Voxpops with the public reveal more wilful ignorance and resignation than constructive argument. It is a nightmare.
Fortunately for my mental health there are reruns of The Supervet,and I have found I can catch up on a New Zealand series I enjoyed while staying with Nadia, The Brokenwood Mysteries, on UKTV. It may be ostrich-like behaviour, but I have my sanity to consider.
This was not what I intended to write about this evening, but Brexit is pervasive, like a ghastly epidemic that infects everything.
After my tv fix (I’m going to bail out of the news soon I think) I may have the will to write something else.

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