A muppet Christmas quarrel
As Brexit divisions frame the election, diplomat’s resignation exposes the true cost of all the spin... and nobody should rely on a Scrooge like Trump to deliver a happy ending for Britain
THERE is nothing like sitting down at Christmas to watch one of the classic movies.
Whether it be It’s a Wonderful Life, Scrooged or The Muppet Christmas Carol, something dire always occurs only for a miracle then to happen.
By the time the credits begin to roll, the film has restored our faith in man, sorry, humankind, and we are left feeling everything is right with the world.
But Britain today is mired in its very own nightmare before Christmas as the General Election takes place.
The script has been in the writing since June 2016, with a cast full of pantomime villains.
Last week, a new plot twist took place, escaping much of the UK’s attention but delivering a worrying insight into the truth – or lack of it – regarding our departure from the EU.
Alexandra Hall Hall, the British diplomat in charge of explaining Brexit to the US government, quit in disgust, accusing the Government of being dishonest to UK “citizens”.
The 33-year-old who was the Brexit counsellor at the UK embassy in Washington, delivered a searing resignation letter after being angered by demands placed on the civil service over the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
She wrote her position had become “untenable professionally” and “unbearable personally” saying Britain’s politicians had undermined the credibility of diplomats’ work abroad.
Addressing it to deputy ambassador Michael Tatham in Washington, she said: “I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honestly, even with our own citizens, the challenges and tradeoffs which Brexit involves; the use of misleading or disingenuous arguments about the implications of the various options before us; and some behaviour towards our institutions, which, were it happening in another country, we would almost certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern.
“It makes our job to promote democracy and the rule of law that much harder if we are not seen to be upholding these core values at home.”
Hall Hall said she could no longer reconcile her commitment to the job with the demands made of her.
“I am also at a stage in life where I would prefer to do something more rewarding with my time than peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust,” she added.
It was a startling admission, by someone inside the workings of Government, about how badly the British public have been treated.
There have been few more damning charges against the Government’s approach than in Hall Hall’s resignation letter, but there may be another, even more unsettling, reason for politicians’ approach to trade policy Stateside.
They have no idea what they are doing. The UK has little recent experience in doing deals.
Not since 1973 when it joined the Common Market, has it undertaken its own trade talks.
The European Commission has done all members’ bidding.
And despite all the bluff and bluster on both sides of the divide, politicians need to start being realistic about what is and what is not achievable. If they do not, the next government will be forced to learn the hard way against tested negotiators in Washington, Brussels and around the world.
It is why many experts fear the UK will have to recalibrate its promises with the US and settle for a much more modest, smaller deal instead.
The ‘special relationship’ means little to Donald Trump when it comes to fulfilling his “America First” mantra.
What is clear however, is with this cast of muppets, Britain’s political pantomime is set to continue long into next year.
...politicians need to start being realistic about what is and what is not achievable