LAST week, there was more news than you could shake a stick at.
On Wednesday it was about Corbyn’s crisis, Cameron’s EU departure, Farage’s rant, fall-out from Brexit, Boris and more Boris (fat good that did him). But in the afternoon BBC TV and radio turned their focus to full-on coverage of a tennis match featuring the 772nd ranked player in the world.
Blessed relief perhaps. Along with the inevitable references to a plucky Brit, it was perhaps an indication of our sense of perspective in a week when much of our nation had been turned upside down, politically and constitutionally. How to make sense of it? There are more questions than answers, but to continue in cliché-land ‘We are, where we are’.
With the nation split, with friends and families divided, recriminations and regrets are futile. The nation is coming out of the EU, which is the only fact that we can rely on at the moment. The enormity of the task of extricating ourselves from the European community and attendant legislation is massive – and was deplorably underplayed during the run-up to the vote. An estimated 2000 pieces of legislation will have to be unpicked.
I voted to remain but have no issues with those who took a different view. The arguments advanced by both sides had merit and persuasive elements. People took sides for very different reasons, although we do need to educate those who thought that it was a glorified opinion poll and their votes didn’t really count.
Calls for a re-run were inevitable in a close run contest, whichever side lost out. Despite bouts of placard waving, demonstrations populated by the usual suspects and ‘left-field’ crank callers to phone-in programmes, the British are once again demonstrating stoicism, a sense of humour, tolerance (despite the actions of a few head-cases) and will adapt to whatever economic landscape lies ahead. Initially, the pound tanked. The FTSE dived, but within days had recovered to relative normality. Economists (yes, them again) warn of a dip in consumer confidence. They be right- or they may be wrong – only time will tell.
There is little doubt that the referendum result was hugely influenced by the media. The UK Press Gazette reports that in the 28 days leading up to the vote, the Daily Mail (but not Mail on Sunday), Sun, Express and Telegraph published 90 million front pages with pro-Leave messages compared with 30 million front pages from newspapers supporting Remain.
What is vital is that the country now retains a sense of perspective and balance. In the days ahead, there are sure to be headlines about Vodafone, Visa, financial institutions and others suggesting that they will lessen their presence in the UK because of the referendum decision. But we have a real split, so we need to hear the positives as well as the negatives. I want to hear messages from leading industrialists such as JCB’s Lord Bamford and James Dyson (who both supported Leave) about why the breakaway from the EU will now benefit them, their staff and their customers.
These are indeed turbulent times, probably more significant than at any time since the end of World War Two. But today (1 July), a War of Words and political upheaval is nothing compared with events on the Somme exactly 100 years today when 20,000 British soldiers died for their freedom. A solemn and sober reflection.
For us, life will go on. The grass will grow, the leaves will fall off the trees. Indeed, at this time, I prefer to hang on the powerful words of the late Jo Cox MP that ‘There is more that unites us than divides us’.
