BROKEN BRITAIN

Broken Britain** 

Age has already wearied, and too many years condemned, our youth to an uncertain future

DURING the mendacious and malevolent campaign for the referendum, from both sides, the fear was expressed that it placed at risk the social cohesion of Briain. And it sure has but not only in the way that had been predicted.

For today not only do we have heightened sensitivity to race, colour and even creed. Not only do we have an acute awareness of how the vote varied region by region and the 'blame' that can be attached to it.

And not even only (ouch!) do we have the expected outcome that Scotland stands separate and independent from all of the UK bar the London bubble.

Worse by far, we have a generational divide that some fear may not even be bridgeable.

For it is clear for all to see that while many of my age and older voted to remain in the EU very large numbers of Baby Boomers voted to quit. And pretty few young voters wanted out, seeing their much longer future better within.

Beyond that too is not just the inevitable aggravation of these young voters with their elders for 'letting them' down or simply being selfish. There is beyond them another huge tranche of youngsters who could not vote and who it seems would certainly have helped to reduce if not destroy the OUT majority.

And if we might hoped that some midway could be found then the mighty if dubious cry of “democracy, we must accept the verdict” probably destroys such hopes. Even if the EU might concur. Instead they, smarting at the rebuff, finally convinced of the perfidy of Albion and equally terrified lest the contagion spread have made it very clear indeed – you want to go so GO NOW.

It hurts me to say it but a lot of us told you so. And a lot of us were a great deal less sanguine about the Remain vote than too many in power.

We have ended up here due to the internal machinations of the Conservative and (dare I say it?) Unionist Party. Yet somehow it is the Labour Party tearing itself to pieces – and even that exacerbates the generational split. For many youth wanted another way and Corbyn seemed to some to be it.

There is little comfort in watching Clammy and Ozzie falling on their swords. It was the least they could do. But given the hovering horror of BoJO a MiGo and the bizarre aggrandisement of the chump Hunt things can indeed only get worse. It grieves me to say it but on this reckoning Theresa May is our ponly hope!

Why? Because if she gets to be PM the chance that Margaret Hodge could be leader of the Labour Party recedes – and while I back Corbyn I do NOT back any of the other candidates at all.

But back to the yoof situation. Not only are they going to spend a lot of time in the coming years on recriminations against us oldies – even their parents if anecdotes are even close to true – but they are about to find themselves further alienated. For there is scant chance that far right twerps who will rule the Tories for the next 5-10 years will take youth seriously. And if the Blairites have anything to do with it the young left will be strangled at birth.

The time has indeed come for electoral reform in the hope that Broken Britain can be mended:

• First of course must come Proportional Representation, to give value to each vote.
• Then some sensible rules to shunt referenda into their proper place – advisory.
• Then a lowering of the voting age to 16 to re-balance a bad equation.
• And finally and most controversially a cap on the qualification to vote at 80 years of age.

Most of those I know in that cohort are not frankly to be trusted with the honour. And I doubt I will be in a few years time. if now...

**Broken Britain is often attributed to The Sun and the Tory Party in 2007 but it has a longer and slightly more honourable past. It certainly started out in the later 1990s as Broken Society as in Britain is a... And it appears the BB version may have surfaced soon after. In about 2002 Ian Duncan Smith appears to have used it . Blair gets given it in 1995. My own recollection gives it to Michael Heseltine when he visited Toxteth after the 1981 riots and found himself once again a One Nation Tory, much to Margaret Thatcher's aggravation. But I could be dreaming. He was – the Treasury scuppered his plans.