Seeking common ground on Brexit
Amid division over the EU, we should recognise and affirm our common humanity, writes Rev Dr Richard Frazer
On 23 June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union with 52 per cent voting to leave and 48 per cent to remain. In Scotland, as in Northern Ireland, the picture was slightly different, with 62 per cent of seeking to remain and 38 per cent to leave.
Nearly three years on and, having triggered the process for leaving the EU and seen the UK Parliament reject the Withdrawal Agreement on three separate occasions, we are preparing to participate in the European Parliamentary elections tomorrow.
All the while, in a fortnight’s time, the Prime Minister will again be seeking approval for that same Withdrawal Agreement, albeit with a “surprise” package of measures as yet undisclosed in the hope of breaking the deadlock.
As a society, we are divided on this issue. And this reality is the reason for the impasse in parliament. Statements from the UK Government do not acknowledge that the vote to leave the EU was not consistent in all parts of the UK, nor does the rhetoric of the Government appear to take into account the very close outcome of the referendum.
Within our communities there has been little done to seek to engage with these divisions and find common ground, a common language and a common vision. The result is uncertainty, anger and despondency across the spectrum of opinion.
For many people in communities across Scotland, the overwhelming response to Brexit is grief.
People are mourning the loss of their European identity. Many also realise that the better world they had hoped for is not contained in the proposals under consideration. The almost universal nature of this disappointment suggests the need for a new start, while the scale of the division requires that we adopt a different approach to that which we have witnessed over the last three years.
If we are to progress from here it will require time, humility and a willingness to listen and build consensus, not just in Westminster but across our communities. If we wish to avoid significant damage to our shared wellbeing it also requires our politicians to work actively towards agree - ment across the four nations of the UK and
to use whatever mechanisms are necessary to create the time for this to happen.
In the midst of persistent uncertainty and division, we must begin by placing human relationships at the centre of our policy making. Where division tempts us to accentuate boundaries, to entrench positions, and to alienate one another, as communities and as nations we can strive to listen to one another, to increase our understanding and to find a shared solution. This is not to say that this approach is easy, that there are simple answers or that it automatically brings us to our desired destination. But if we fail to make this first step then we have already set off on the wrong foot down a dead-end path. If our approach is to recognise and affirm our common humanity, then we know we are on the right path.
If we are to truly recognise our common humanity then that cannot be done without prioritising the voices and wellbeing of the poorest and most marginalised.
As the Church, we recognise that within the Gospels, Jesus is consistently on the side of the poorest and most marginalised, inviting people to hear the voices and the concerns of those on the edge. In our current situation we recognise too that there is likely to be considerable adverse economic impact from leaving the EU on the poorest communities throughout the UK. This negative outlook is supported by the UK Government’s own forecasts.
As a society, we should be committed to ensuring that our political choices do not disproportionately affect those who are already struggling with poverty, but ensure that their voices and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do. This truly is the measure of any society or social movement. This then is our second step.
The third step is about striving for peace. In 2016, a report to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland noted that “the peacebuilding role of the EU and other institutions should not be underestimated”.
Such comments are particularly resonant when we recognise the way in which EU membership, and the four freedoms – the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons within the EU – that are an inherent part of it, underpin the Good Friday Agreement.
The real and serious implications that the loss of such freedoms have for Northern Ireland and beyond should be a significant concern for all of us and give ample reason for a more conciliatory and consensus-driven approach. We remain deeply concerned about the uncertainty that hangs over many thousands of EU citizens who have made their homes and built their families among us.
Whatever the UK’S future relationship with the EU is, if it is to avoid leaving entrenched and serious divisions within our communities and across the UK, it must be reached through open discussion and the building of common ground.
It is only in such a process that, as a society, the next steps might be taken together rather than apart.
• Rev Dr Richard Frazer is convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council
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