In today’s Queen’s speech, an annual ritual on the opening day of the British Parliament when the Queen reads out the government’s statement of intent for the year to follow, the underlying assumption was that the Conservative government’s plans and policies would be rolled out in a Britain that remains within the European Union. However, as the country edges towards June 23 and the in-out referendum to be held that day, it is still not clear which way the vote will go. Opinion polls, the marker in this country of public opinion, suggest a very close call for either side.
The Brexit question has created unusual fault-lines in British politics, uniting foes and dividing friends both across and within mainstream political parties, the trade union movement and other social and civic institutions. However, the party that is likely to look very different after the referendum regardless of the outcome is the Conservative Party. If the vote goes for Remain, then David Cameron will continue as Prime Minister, although with those senior ministers who are with the Leave group unlikely to stay on. A vote for Brexit on the other hand will necessitate a fundamental redirection of policy, to be navigated at the very least by someone who supports the idea.
If Mr. Cameron is the face of Remain, it is former Mayor Boris Johnson, also a Conservative, who plays that role for the Leave group. Mr. Johnson also has ambitions of succeeding Mr. Cameron as prime minister one day. Mr. Johnson received flak from all sides for saying that while Hitler and the EU may have used different means, their project was the same, namely, to create a European super state.
Lord Heseltine, a strong supporter of Remain, yesterday attacked Mr. Johnson for his “preposterous and obscene political remarks.” The senior leader said: “I think that every time he makes one of these extraordinary utterances, people in the Tory party will question whether he now has the judgment for [the leadership],” The Times quoted Lord Heseltine as saying.
A YouGov poll commissioned by The Times and published today showed the Remain camp safely ahead, with 44 per cent expressing support for Remain and 40 for Leave. The poll also found that 48 per cent thought the claims expressed by the Remain group were exaggerated and unrealistic, while 43 per cent thought the same this about the Leave campaign.
“People are being bullied with ridiculous scare stories, like the warnings of World War Three by David Cameron,” said Robert Oulds, Director of the Bruges Group, a eurosceptic think tank. (Mr. Cameron in a recent statement said that the chances for the outbreak of war would be greater if Britain left the EU because it would embolden Russia under Mr. Putin while weakening NATO.)
According to Mr. Oulds, Mr. Johnson, “was an asset” as the head of the Leave campaign. “He is considerably more trusted than David Cameron,” he told The Hindu. “Plus, he is incredibly well liked. He is mobbed like a pop star when he goes out on the streets.”
Mr. Oulds defended Mr. Johnson’s comments on Hitler. “It is a fact that by 1942, the German’s had ambitions of creating a European super state, and likewise Britain has had a record of resisting those attempts at the centralization of power,” he said.
