“Time for some structured anarchy” – British hard-line Brexiteers preparing to fight for Brexit

With less than three weeks to the official Brexit day, Prime Minister May is expected to face another defeat on Tuesday, when the parliament will vote on her Brexit deal proposal. The hard-line Brexiteers are getting ready to fight for Brexit. The hard-liners also seem to want to polish their image.

Boris Johnson wrote on The Telegraph on the 24th of February:

“…I am getting sick of the constant suggestion that anyone who sticks up for Brexit must have far Right tendencies. I can’t understand why people are suddenly claiming that anyone who wants to get out of the EU – and follow the instructions of the British people – is a zealot, or an extremist, or Ukip, or Blukip, or some kind of ultra-conservative bigot. Where is this stuff coming from?” (1)

Johnson himself has become infamous for his racist and Islamophobic remarks. Last year he caused an uproar by comparing veiled Muslim women to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers.” Bizarrely, Johnson was not considered to have breached the Conservative Party’s code of conduct. (2)

Last Tuesday, chairman of the European Research Group ERG Jacob Rees-Mogg once again accused May’s government and the Remainers of trying to block Brexit. He wrote in The Sun:

“…the extreme Remainers do not just want an extension — they want ­reversal (i.e. of Brexit referendum) and see this as a first step.

It is worth remembering that those who love the European Union prefer it to democracy and always have done.”

“…the Government must prove that it is committed to the referendum result, for that is the authoritative ­constitutional voice.

No responsible government ought to allow the constitution to be subverted because of its own weaknesses. The ­conventions are there for good ­reasons and, if ignored, confidence in the system that has served well for ­centuries will be damaged — with ­consequences that could include the rise of extremist parties. Failure to deliver Brexit would be a gift to Tommy Robinson.” (3)

Leave Means Leave campaigner Nigel Farage tweeted yesterday that “it’s time for some structured anarchy.” He also advertised March To Leave campaign and “historic rally of Brexiteers” on Parliament Square, London, on the 29th of March. (4)

References:

1) “Brexiteers are not far-Right zealots. Just ask the younger Tony Blair” The Telegraph 24.2.2019

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/24/brexiteers-not-far-right-zealots-just-ask-younger-tony-blair/

2) “Conservatives rule Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women in veils to letter boxes and bank robbers was ‘respectful'” The Independent 21.12.2018

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-cleared-burka-niqab-bank-robber-letterboxes-conservative-party-a8693761.html

3) “We the people have spoken on Brexit… let us now have have lift-off ” The Sun 5.3.2019

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8570432/jacob-ress-mogg-people-have-spoken-on-brexit/

4) Nigel Farage on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nigel_farage

British Conservative Party suspends 14 members because of alleged Islamophobia

The Tories have suspended 14 members after abusive Islamophobic comments were uncovered on social media. Many of the comments were found on a Facebook group supporting hard-line Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Muslim Council of Britain and former Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi repeated their calls for an inquiry into the anti-Muslim abuse and Islamophobia within the Tory Party. Mrs Warsi said that the party had “a deep-rooted problem of anti-Muslim comments, Islamophobic comments, racist comments” and that the party chairman and the prime minister had not taken the problem seriously enough.

Read the full story on The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/05/tories-suspend-14-members-over-alleged-islamophobia

More bad news for Britain

As Brexit is getting closer, political disintegration seems to continue in Britain. Jeremy Hosking, a multimillionaire financier, has registered a new party Brexit Express in order to support “hard Brexit” – the move increases the risk that the Conservative Party may split (1). Today seven MPs resigned from the Labour Party. According to them, the British politics is “broken” and the Labour Party has been taken over by “hard left.” They also criticized the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, as well as “antisemitism” and “racism” in the party. (2) One of the defectors, Luciana Berger, accused Labour Party of “institutional antisemitism” (3). Another defector, Angela Smith, caused a racism row by saying that members of ethnic minorities are of a “funny tinge” (4).

The British organization Hope not Hate published their annual “State of Hate Report.” According to the report, “Britain is increasingly divided and that is likely to increase” whatever happens with Brexit. There is also a growing risk of far right terrorism and increasing support for far right. The report also states that “anti-Muslim prejudice has replaced immigration as the key driver of far right growth”, but also attitudes towards immigration “are deteriorating.” The report also pays attention to the antisemitism problem in the Labour Party. On the other hand, Islamophobia seems to have become a significant problem in the Conservative Party. According to the report, “49% of 2017 Conservative voters think that Islam is incompatible to the British way of life and 47% think there are no go areas in Britain where sharia law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter.” (5)

References:

1) “No-dealers dig in for a fresh battle amid fears of Tory split” The Guardian 17.2.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/17/no-deal-brexiters-tory-split-conservative-multimillionaire-donor-new-party

2) “In their own words: why seven MPs are quitting Labour” The Guardian 18.2.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/18/in-their-own-words-why-seven-mps-are-quitting-labour-independent-group

3) “MP says UK Labour is ‘institutionally anti-Semitic’ as 7 lawmakers quit party” The Times of Israel 18.2.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/mp-says-uks-labour-institutionally-anti-semitic-as-7-lawmakers-quit-party/

4) “Britain’s newest political group isn’t even a day old. It’s already been accused of racism” The Washington Post 18.2.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/02/18/britains-newest-political-group-isnt-even-day-old-its-already-accused-racism/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4b46f4e89b8d

5) “State of Hate Report 2019” – Hope not Hate 17.2.2019

https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/research/state-of-hate-report-2019/