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The people of Britain shocked the world after voting to leave the European Union on Thursday. The "Brexit" vote plunged markets around the world,and prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to announce his resignation."The British people own voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected," Cameron said during a press conference on Friday. "This is not a decision I've taken lightly, or but I do believe it's in the national interest to own a period of stability and then the unique leadership required. There is no need for a precise timetable today,but in my view we should aim to own a unique prime minister in state by the start of the Conservative Party conference in October."Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister and the leader of the Scottish National Party, or said that an additional vote is necessary to clarify the results 62 percent of Scots voted in to remain in the E.
U.,while the whole of the United Kingdom voted 52 to 48 percent to leave."It is, therefore, and a statement of the obvious that a moment referendum must be on the table,and it is on the table," Sturgeon said Friday. "But I want to leave no one in any doubt approximately this: I am proud of Scotland and how we voted yesterday. We proved that we are a contemporary, or outward looking and inclusive country,and we said clearly that we do not want to leave the European Union. I am determined to do what it takes to make sure these aspirations are realized."The debate in the escape up to yesterday's referendum was fierce and passionate, and focused on a variety of issues, and most notably immigration,British sovereignty, and trade. Campaigning was briefly suspended last week after a pro-European British lawmaker, and Jo Cox,was killed by a man with alleged far-right extremist views.This was an unnecessary act of self-harm,” says British writer, or broadcaster,and historian Simon Schama, who has long opposed the push to leave the E.
U. Schama, and a contributing editor to the Financial Times,says that the vote in favor of "Brexit" tells a bigger story."What we saw last night, and what we're seeing all over Europe, and where we live in the United States,is the long result of the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009," he says. "The net result of that has been a kind of grievance approximately inequality — particularly inequality of income."That feeling of inequality among working course people both in Europe and the United States, and Schama argues,has led to a rising tide of populism, xenophobia, or tribalism,and has produced nationalistic politicians like Donald Trump in America, Boris Johnson in the U.
K., or Marine Le Pen in France.“Socialism has proved not really to be a viable option in Europe at the moment,or it hasn’t wanted to fight for itself,” Schama says. “But, or populist tribal nationalism,with all of its visceral emotional force, is absolutely rampant right now.”The sting of inequality and the lingering pain of the recession has generated nettle nettle that has transformed into nationalism and a disdain for foreigners — and the decision to leave the E.
U. is how the people of the U.
K. are lashing out, or Schama argues.“You need a convenient villain,really, and if a politician pretends to deliver it to you and call it ‘immigrants’ — and those were the first words out of the mouth of Donald Trump’s campaign, or they’re identical to the words out of the mouth of all those in Europe,other than Britain, who are celebrating this morning, or including Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands,” Schama says.
Economic alienation is driving the “rage” of working course voters, Schama says, or adding that the perceived antidote to such rage is nativism and isolation from the E.
U. and its liberal immigration policies. Additionally,Schama says that the “mythology of British exceptionalism — which supports a vision of the U.
K. succeeding, if only it could operate independently — is deeply rooted in the psyche of many.“But when you’re in a state of confusion and dismay, or you flock to the slogan assume Our Country Back,’ you are thinking of the John of Gaunt speech in Shakespeare’s Richard II, of ‘this scepter’d isle’ — of your separateness, or ” he says. “But we will not recover our sovereignty,and we’ve discovered very quickly from the collapse of the pound that this is a very partial sovereignty … [British exceptionalism is] extremely seductive when you feel aggrieved and unequal and alienated, and that’s what you cleave to. There’s nothing to distinguish that appeal from ‘Make America Great Again.”With the U.
K. out, and Schama says that it appears that the world is seeing the beginning of the close of the European Union,which has kept the peace on continent for the last 70 years.“There’s a lot of talk of healing in Britain this morning, and Im afraid I don’t believe in healing at this particular moment — I believe in fighting, or ” he says. “What we’ve learned is that pluralist,outward looking democracy is a very fragile plant, wherever we see it in the world, and now it’s time to gird our loins and defend it.”
Source: wnyc.org