Irrational responses to Brexit high court ruling
The Question Time panel included Conservative communities secretary Sajid Javid, Labour’s Lisa Nandy, editor-in-chief of the Economist Zanny Minton Beddoes, talk show host Charlie Wolf, and radio presenter Huey Morgan.
Isn’t it sad that the most wacked-out and loopy responses to the high court’s ruling – that Parliament has the final say on Brexit – have come from some of the most influential people?
Look at Sajid Javid on the BBC’s Question Time. He said the court’s decision was an attempt to “thwart the will of the British people”.
How is that, exactly? Isn’t it easier to “thwart the will of the British people” by making sure the British people don’t know what the government is doing?
Isn’t it harder to “thwart the will of the British people” if the British people know what is going on and are able to express their opinion on it?
No wonder he was mauled by the Watford audience.
But he wasn’t alone in overreacting. Here’s the front page of the Express:
It is as gross a misrepresentation as you’re ever likely to see.
Firstly, the high court judges didn’t block Brexit. They merely asserted the sovereignty of the UK Parliament, as enshrined in the law of the land. If the editors of the Express don’t like it, they can always move somewhere else (which would be ironic in the circumstances).
Secondly, the story’s intro paragraph is so hyperbolic it is hilarious! “Today this country faces a crisis as grave as anything since the dark days when Churchill vowed we would fight them on the beaches.” What?
Is this silly hack-rag actually comparing the high court to Nazis? In this astonishing fantasy world, what does its editor imagine will happen next? Thousands of Remainer stormtroopers parachuting into ‘Leave’ areas, or merely leaflet-bombing them with “propaganda” about the harmful effects of hard Brexit?
The Daily Mail went one step further beyond the pale by attempting to shame one of the judges for being “openly gay”. So what?
The Heil took another step towards open fascism with its claim that the three high court judges who handed down the ruling were “Enemies of the People”.
This Writer agrees with the Angry Yorkshireman who writes Another Angry Voice. He wrote on his Facebook page:
“It’s pretty difficult to ignore the fascist undertones here.
“The Daily Mail want Theresa May to be able to bypass all forms of democratic accountability and behave like a dictator by making up her own laws to suit herself and her party donors.
“These three judges have stood up for democracy and parliamentary sovereignty so now they’re under sustained attack as ‘enemies of the people’ by the right-wing press.
“Thus anyone who doesn’t agree that Theresa May should be allowed to behave like a dictator by bypassing democratic accountability and making up the law as she goes along is an ‘enemy of the people’ (as decided by a bunch of right-wing hacks working for a billionaire sociopath who lives in Monaco to avoid paying British taxes!).”
Not today, thank you! At least, not in our democracy-loving, free-thinking, law-abiding United Kingdom.
You want to get rid of “enemies of the people”?
Don’t buy the Mail or Express, ridicule those who do, and vote Sajid Javid and his democracy-destroying friends out of Parliament. Consider it your democratic duty.
Conservative minister Sajid Javid has been savaged by the audience of Thursday night’s BBC Question Time.
The Business Secretary was repeatedly berated by attendees, with his words repeated back at him as tensions rose around the High Court’s ruling on Friday to refer Article 50 to parliament.
“Public money has been wasted fighting this that could have been spent on public services,” one woman at the Watford debate said. “And Sajid Javid, I don’t know why you aren’t more embarrassed to represent your party today, it’s an embarrassment”.
Javid dismissed suggestions the government was in disarray over Brexit – drawing noises of derision from the audience.
Another member of the audience said the government “doesn’t have a clue” what it’s doing over Brexit.
“We all know the reason the government and the cabinet don’t want this going to the Houses of Parliament and that’s because they haven’t got a clue what they’re doing,” the woman said. “The devil’s in the detail and they have not got a clue what they’re doing.”
Javid responded to say he “understands” what the woman said. “It’s not the same thing as saying the government doesn’t have a plan,” he said to growing heckles from the audience. “You wouldn’t expect a running commentary on this.”
Source: BBC Question Time Sajid Javid Berated By Audience Over Brexit | Huffington Post
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It makes me wonder whether some of these so-called newspapers are in contempt of court.
Irrational responses are to expected from those who can offer no rational comments.
Silence would be preferable!
Anyone who has a facebook account can enter “Stop funding hate” in the facebook search bar and join a campaign to persuade advertisers to not use the Express, Sun and Mail for their adverts. Papers don’t like it when you hit their income stream.
Excellent idea.
Fascist ranting! The will of the people for goodness sake! As Norman Smith on BBC News said: “One thing a Govt does not like is losing control”. The judges have done their duty by being an arbiter between the Executive (GOVT) which is transitory anyway and the CONSTITUTION which is ongoing. Parliament trumps Political executive.
This just demonstrates yet again the poor standard of MP’s that we have in the UK.
It is no secret that I voted for us to end our current contract with the E.U. but I have no problem with the High Court’s Ruling. The referendum did not give anybody carte blanche to do what they want in negotiating the cessation of the contract, or, indeed, negotiating a new one. The terms “hard” and “soft” Brexit are meaningless, even “Brexit” has no meaning; it is not an exit of any kind, merely the discontinuation of something. Sajid Javid? I’m surprised that I’ve wasted my time even writing his name.
If the government really wants us to end this contract, it is better that it takes Parliament along with it and if it takes the High Court to ensure that it does, so much the better!
“You wouldn’t expect a running commentary on this.”
Maybe not, but a proper Parliamentary debate, would at least show those people who called for the return of our perceived loss of sovereignty that, it is alive and well in a democratic country.
Perhaps someone should explain to these despots what the word “Democracy” actually means?