Heroes can still deliver twist in this Brexit disaster movie
IT COULD be the script for a movie about a zombie attack or an alien invasion.
According to the Hollywood rulebook, first comes the shock of what’s happened in act one, followed by panic in act two.
Families rush to chaotic supermarkets to stockpile canned food. Then comes the civil unrest.
Finally, however, in act three there is a leader who rises to the challenge and rescues his or her people before the credits roll.
But in the real-world Brexit storyline, there will be no Hollywood ending.
Theresa May can’t even rescue her country from a bumbling aristocrat like Jacob Rees-Mogg, let alone zombies or aliens.
We’ve already had act one – the shock of a referendum result where liars and cheats emerged victorious.
We’re now playing out act two. In an extraordinary TV interview at the weekend, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab refused to deny reports that the Tory Government are planning to stockpile food in preparation for a “no deal” scenario.
Yesterday, the head of Amazon in the UK warned that leaving the EU with no deal could prompt “civil unrest” within days.
This is not coming from the imagination of a LA screenwriter – this is the stark reality we face.
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve admitted on Sunday: “We’ve got to be realistic about this. We will be in a state of emergency.”
Or as a character in the movie might say at this point, this just got real.
The bookies are offering odds of just 4-7 there will no deal before next March and the Government are planning 70 technical notices on the contingencies of what happens if there is no deal.
That includes plans for huge disruption at ports and airports, while basic public services could be thrown into chaos. The Tory Brexiteers can’t claim this is “project fear” scaremongering when the warnings are coming from their own Government.
What an almighty mess. David Cameron’s reckless decision to hold the EU referendum to placate his own backbenchers is having seismic consequences.
Already, the UK is the slowest growing major economy on Earth and we haven’t even left the EU yet. If there is a no deal, Scotland’s economy will be £12.7billion a year worse off by 2030 – that’s tens of thousands of jobs lost and livelihoods destroyed.
Every single person who loses their job will know who to blame – Theresa May and her cabal of Brexiteers.
But the Brexit reality also demonstrates just how misguided the SNP’s pursuit of independence is.
Imagine thinking the best way to solve economic chaos is to create even more economic chaos.
The SNP’s Cuts Commission shows just how tough the austerity would be in an independent Scotland. Indyref2 is a sequel that we can’t afford.
But it doesn’t have to be this way, the plot can still be changed.
If Brexit is put to a People’s Vote, we will have the chance to remain in the EU.
We need heroes to step up and deliver that opportunity before the final act.