60 years of peace in Europe, and this weekend we see two astounding quotes.
Firstly Aaron Banks, public enemy number one (jointly with Farage), describes the Brexit campaign that he funded and the battle for public opinion as a war from which there is now no turning back.
How did we get here? Was the referendum really about taking us to war? Is this what people voted for? It’s astonishing and frightening that this is even being said, let alone by people who are so influential in the public mind-set.
“After the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom.”
The meaning needs a little thought but I take it to mean that any agreement made for the UK will not apply to Gibralter unless both the UK and Spain agree to it. This has been interpreted by many, especially the Brexit press, as a threat by Spain to Gibralter’s status as an overseas territory of the UK. So what to do?
Michael Howard has, unfortunately, taken it upon himself to rattle Theresa May’s sabre. Speaking to the BBC he said that Thatcher “sent a taskforce halfway across the world to protect another small group of British people against another Spanish-speaking country. And I’m absolutely clear that (May) will show the same resolve in relation to Gibraltar.”
So is this Howard going off-script, or is he Number 10’s messenger? If the latter this is indeed an unexpected turn for the already fraught Brexit process. Not only are we seeking to do untold harm to our own country, we’re now talking about going to war with one of our allies. How the **** did we ever get here? Was this in the referendum back in June?
Aside from Howard’s outburts, May has made much of ‘defending‘ the sovereignty (that word again) of Gibralter and of stopping the nasty Spanish from getting their hands on ‘our’ rock. Back in 2002 the residents of Gibralter had their own referendum on whether Britian should share its sovereignty with Spain. 98.5% they said ‘no’. Last year they took part in that other referendum. And 92% voted to stay in the EU. So it’s really quite clear; they want to stay part of the UK and they want to stay in the EU. The two are totally compatible and work in the interests of the residents and, I imagine, the surrounding parts of Spain.
So how to avoid this potentially very nasty spat with the Spannish and protect Gibralter? It’s simple. Do what the Gibraltarians want: stay in the EU. Job done.
Last October I visited Ypres (or Ieper) in Belgium. In the First World War it was utterly destroyed. Today, standing amongst the war graves at Passchendaele, you can see the spires of the rebuilt churches in Ypres, just six miles away. Over that small space of land, over those fields, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. And actually, what was it really for?
British cemetary at Passchendaele, Belgium, with the spires of Ypres in the distance
Back in those days the international world was defined by bi-lateral treaties between one country and another. So when Austria declared war on Serbia, after the shooting of Archduke Ferdinand, Germany immediately came in on the side of its ally Austria. Russia then came in on the side of Serbia, because they had their own treaty. France had a treaty with Russia so they then declared war on Germany. And Britain got involved because they had a treaty with France. In no time at all the whole of Europe was at war.
Of course, that is a rather simplified take on how it happened and overlooks the simmering tensions between the great colonial powers as they sought the resources to sustain la belle epoque. But thirty years later they were at it again, with more bi-lateral treaties seeking but failing to secure the peace.
Fortunately the architects of post-war Europe in the 1940s onwards saw things rather differently. No more bi-lateral treaties. Instead they went for one treaty that bound everyone to everyone else. Differences between one country and another would be resolved by everyone, because it was in everyone’s interest to make sure they were resolved. Sometimes that would mean a fudge or a less-than-perfect compromise. But it was better than fighting, and destroying, and killing. Today we know it as the European Union.
So what on earth are we doing, here in 2017, trying to leave the EU and that treaty that binds us all together. And in the US, that man (I can’t bear to write his name) is ripping up multilateral agreements in favour of bi-lateral agreements. We are forgetting our history and being encouraged to pursue what we are told is our own best interest. The best interest of a few maybe, but ultimately it’s you, me and our children who will suffer should war once again ravage our homelands. Co-operation and compromise is so much better than war.
Aside from Howard’s outburts, 