THERE are few more insightful columnists than William Hague. No wonder: having been leader of the opposition and foreign secretary he has been there, done that and can offer wisdom from experience. He has always been clear, even as a Remainer, that the Brexit referendum result has to be respected. Which is why his words yesterday are especially interesting.
Discussing the immediate aftermath of the vote last year he wrote: “Everywhere I went abroad, business leaders and politicians asked me how we would get round the result and whether we would lose heart about leaving when it got difficult.”
This is revealing because it shows the mindset of an EU elite which cannot accept the idea that anyone might leave the EU. Worse, as we have seen repeatedly since the Maastricht Treaty turned the European Economic Community into the European Union, they simply assume that no member state’s governing class will allow it to happen.
However it could also be viewed as a case of Lord Hague stating the obvious because history offers so many examples of the EU getting round the results of democratic votes. If voters reject Brussels then voters are wrong.
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That view was expressed unambiguously by the then president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, who said in 2005: “They must go on voting until they get it right.”
Lo and behold that is exactly what happened in other referendums. In 1992 the Danes said no to the Maastricht Treaty. Their vote was ignored and the treaty went ahead. In 2001 the Irish voted against the Nice Treaty. That was cast aside. In 2008 the Irish voted against the Lisbon Treaty. Again it was cast aside.
This contempt for democracy is so deeply ingrained in the EU’s DNA and the mindset of its champions that they cannot even see it. They regard themselves and their project as morally superior to those who question them, so by definition their opponents are not merely wrong but dangerous and it is their moral duty to overcome them. It’s one thing expecting this from the EU’s supporters abroad. It’s another seeing it here after a referendum in which more people voted to leave the EU than have ever voted for any government.
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There are many honourable Remainers who have accepted the result and knuckled down to making Brexit a success. But there are also many who from day one have made it their mission to undermine the result and do whatever they can to prevent Brexit.
Some of them are even in the Cabinet. Take the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Philip Hammond has been attacked for joining in the squabbling that has broken out in recent weeks over possible strategies for Brexit.
Rightly so. Such rows are more suitable to the school playground than the Cabinet.
But it’s not just the fact of the squabbling that is damaging, it’s the substance from the Remainers masquerading as ministers committed to Brexit. In reality the likes of Philip Hammond have been doing their level best to frustrate it.
This is a cross-party effort. Across both main parties, Remainers talk of continued membership of the single market, the need to stay in the customs union and having lengthy transition arrangements beyond 2019. All are barely disguised attempts to minimise – and if possible prevent – Brexit. Central to this is the idea now being pushed by Remainers that we will need to keep our borders open for years after nominal Brexit in 2019.
Last week, for example, it was reported that Mr Hammond was working on a plan to keep free movement for EU citizens for two years after Brexit.
You can bet your bottom euro on the supposed two year transition period being the starting point rather than the conclusion if they get their way. Because the real agenda is to get round Brexit for as long as possible and in as many ways as possible. Their hope is that the longer we carry on as we are now the greater the possibility that Brexit can be stopped.
Take the idea that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) should continue to have power over British courts and Parliament. This has been suggested in relation to the rights of EU citizens living here.
We voted to leave the EU so that we can once again become a self-governing nation. That means, among other things, British judges deciding British law. Removing ourselves from the power of the ECJ is central. Nothing better illustrates how Remainers seek to undermine Brexit than the idea of the ECJ still having jurisdiction here.
All of this emanates from the belief that Brexit cannot be allowed to happen and that bit by bit it can be undermined. And it is played out in spirit, if not actually in coordination, with the Remainers’ EU counterparts.
Take the huge queues at airports that have recently started to become a regular travel hazard for holders of non-Schengen passports.
This isn’t a deliberate attempt to warn us of what lies in store when we leave (even as EU members we are still not members of Schengen and so are also caught in the queues) but the woefully understaffed passport controls and hours of waiting certainly play into the threats of post-Brexit travel chaos.
This is only just the beginning. The Remainers will not let up – ever. So prepare for worse.
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/835826/brexit-news-latest-eu-referendum-result-theresa-may
