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| Where do we go from here? Six voices on Britain’s post-EU future | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Fraser Nelson: Editor of the Spectator | Fraser Nelson: Editor of the Spectator |
| We have just seen perhaps the greatest act of defiance against the British establishment since universal suffrage. We had the IMF, BoE, OECD, NIESR and every prestigious acronym in the world of economics saying no: vote to stay. We had former spy chiefs, generals, historians, national treasures saying that Brexit would mean Armageddon. A Conservative prime minister, the Labour leader, the nationalists, the trade unions and employers’ unions were telling us they’d done the thinking for us. The chancellor threatening punishment budgets or empty pensioners’ purses. And set against that: a refusal to believe that the world’s third-largest military power and fifth-biggest economy was somehow not big enough to make it on our own. It’s an act of hope, a national self-belief, an act of faith – and perhaps the greatest-ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom. | We have just seen perhaps the greatest act of defiance against the British establishment since universal suffrage. We had the IMF, BoE, OECD, NIESR and every prestigious acronym in the world of economics saying no: vote to stay. We had former spy chiefs, generals, historians, national treasures saying that Brexit would mean Armageddon. A Conservative prime minister, the Labour leader, the nationalists, the trade unions and employers’ unions were telling us they’d done the thinking for us. The chancellor threatening punishment budgets or empty pensioners’ purses. And set against that: a refusal to believe that the world’s third-largest military power and fifth-biggest economy was somehow not big enough to make it on our own. It’s an act of hope, a national self-belief, an act of faith – and perhaps the greatest-ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom. |
| Gavin Kelly: Chief executive, Resolution Foundation | Gavin Kelly: Chief executive, Resolution Foundation |
| Crisis is perhaps the most overused term in the lexicon of British politics. But for once, it fits the bill. A dramatic economic shock, the future of the union in jeopardy, our place in the world in flux, a political class found wanting, a prime minister jettisoned. Look past the campaign and we find the result has many authors – among them deep political and economic forces that, if hardly new, have now been laid bare. We have experienced a slow, steady rupture between generations, geographies and social classes, divides cultural as much as material that will test – possibly to breaking point – the strength of the coalitions of interest that bound together our main political parties throughout the 20th century. Meanwhile, our open, flexible, service-based economy has – despite its strengths – failed to generate enough shared prosperity to reach across the whole nation including into former industrial heartlands. Like other mature economies, we struggle to find a politically sustainable accommodation with globalisation. All this needsto be reckoned with by a governing class completely overwhelmed with the fallout of leaving the EU and at a time when our political leaders seem far smaller than the events they grapple with. A crisis indeed. | Crisis is perhaps the most overused term in the lexicon of British politics. But for once, it fits the bill. A dramatic economic shock, the future of the union in jeopardy, our place in the world in flux, a political class found wanting, a prime minister jettisoned. Look past the campaign and we find the result has many authors – among them deep political and economic forces that, if hardly new, have now been laid bare. We have experienced a slow, steady rupture between generations, geographies and social classes, divides cultural as much as material that will test – possibly to breaking point – the strength of the coalitions of interest that bound together our main political parties throughout the 20th century. Meanwhile, our open, flexible, service-based economy has – despite its strengths – failed to generate enough shared prosperity to reach across the whole nation including into former industrial heartlands. Like other mature economies, we struggle to find a politically sustainable accommodation with globalisation. All this needsto be reckoned with by a governing class completely overwhelmed with the fallout of leaving the EU and at a time when our political leaders seem far smaller than the events they grapple with. A crisis indeed. |
| Alice Bell: Head of communications at 10:10, the climate change charity | Alice Bell: Head of communications at 10:10, the climate change charity |
| With floods in London and the south-east, voters literally stepped over climate change to get to the ballot boxes. The good news is that Britain has decent climate change laws on its own; the bad news is that they aren’t enough. Our renewables targets sit with the EU, and the UK’s political outlook for replacing them isn’t exactly rosy. There’s no guarantee our climate laws are safe either, long-term. | With floods in London and the south-east, voters literally stepped over climate change to get to the ballot boxes. The good news is that Britain has decent climate change laws on its own; the bad news is that they aren’t enough. Our renewables targets sit with the EU, and the UK’s political outlook for replacing them isn’t exactly rosy. There’s no guarantee our climate laws are safe either, long-term. |
| We should also be concerned about possible disruptions to UK science, and export markets for our low-carbon entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, much of the environmental movement’s energies will be sucked into battles over clean air and water, rather than energy and climate change. | We should also be concerned about possible disruptions to UK science, and export markets for our low-carbon entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, much of the environmental movement’s energies will be sucked into battles over clean air and water, rather than energy and climate change. |
| Still, we don’t know how the post-Brexit UK politics will play out. When it comes to possible ambitious action on climate change, there’s a lot for politicians of any colour – blue, green, red, pro- or anti-Cameron – to own. There’s hope there. | Still, we don’t know how the post-Brexit UK politics will play out. When it comes to possible ambitious action on climate change, there’s a lot for politicians of any colour – blue, green, red, pro- or anti-Cameron – to own. There’s hope there. |
| Julia Unwin: Chief executive, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | Julia Unwin: Chief executive, Joseph Rowntree Foundation |
| The decision to leave the EU, driven by resounding victories for Leave in swaths of the north, should not come as a surprise. For decades, governments of all colours have overlooked the worst-off people and places. | The decision to leave the EU, driven by resounding victories for Leave in swaths of the north, should not come as a surprise. For decades, governments of all colours have overlooked the worst-off people and places. |
| We know economic shocks hit the poorest areas hardest, so the priority must be avoiding another downturn. It is vital post-Brexit that politicians and business have a plan for creating better jobs, tackling the high cost of living and ensuring prosperity is more equally shared. | We know economic shocks hit the poorest areas hardest, so the priority must be avoiding another downturn. It is vital post-Brexit that politicians and business have a plan for creating better jobs, tackling the high cost of living and ensuring prosperity is more equally shared. |
| My greatest fear is that Brexit negotiations, financial turmoil and the contest to succeed David Cameron mean that poverty risks being put on the back burner. We had expected a life chances strategy from the government in July, and it is precisely these important social justice reforms that we cannot afford to abandon as well as a relentless focus on jobs and investment. | My greatest fear is that Brexit negotiations, financial turmoil and the contest to succeed David Cameron mean that poverty risks being put on the back burner. We had expected a life chances strategy from the government in July, and it is precisely these important social justice reforms that we cannot afford to abandon as well as a relentless focus on jobs and investment. |
| Inertia and apathy towards the plight of the worst-off won’t be tolerated. We need to look long and hard at how politics and prosperity work in Britain. Politicians across the spectrum must ensure no one is left behind for so long ever again. | Inertia and apathy towards the plight of the worst-off won’t be tolerated. We need to look long and hard at how politics and prosperity work in Britain. Politicians across the spectrum must ensure no one is left behind for so long ever again. |
| Rosie Warin: Co-founder, We Are Europe | Rosie Warin: Co-founder, We Are Europe |
| The referendum has torn this country apart in a way that will have consequences for years to come. We have a lot of work to do to heal these wounds, but I have reason to be hopeful. It’s my generation. The “disengaged”, “unpolitical”, selfie-obsessed generation. The generation who turned out to vote in record numbers. The generation who, right from the start, had a two-thirds majority wanting In. Their reasons? Collaboration, compassion, solidarity, peace, progress. The future belongs to this generation. We remain connected across borders and countries and make stuff happen. We Are Europe embodied this mentality. And that’s why I know that there are brighter days ahead. We won’t let it be otherwise. Today, we feel like our world is collapsing. But from collapse, new shoots emerge. To our peers in the UK we say: we can and will change this. Join us. | The referendum has torn this country apart in a way that will have consequences for years to come. We have a lot of work to do to heal these wounds, but I have reason to be hopeful. It’s my generation. The “disengaged”, “unpolitical”, selfie-obsessed generation. The generation who turned out to vote in record numbers. The generation who, right from the start, had a two-thirds majority wanting In. Their reasons? Collaboration, compassion, solidarity, peace, progress. The future belongs to this generation. We remain connected across borders and countries and make stuff happen. We Are Europe embodied this mentality. And that’s why I know that there are brighter days ahead. We won’t let it be otherwise. Today, we feel like our world is collapsing. But from collapse, new shoots emerge. To our peers in the UK we say: we can and will change this. Join us. |
| We Are Europe is a grassroots campaign group of friends, artists, campaigners, creatives and doers. | We Are Europe is a grassroots campaign group of friends, artists, campaigners, creatives and doers. |
| Barrie Deas: Chief executive, National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations | Barrie Deas: Chief executive, National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations |
| It is clear that the outcome of the EU referendum marks a seismic change for the fishing industry. The NFFO will seek to play a leading role in negotiating the new bilateral and trilateral arrangements that will be required following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. This will mean working with all involved to ensure British fishermen are represented at the highest level of talks on fisheries management and receive the most favourable deal possible. | It is clear that the outcome of the EU referendum marks a seismic change for the fishing industry. The NFFO will seek to play a leading role in negotiating the new bilateral and trilateral arrangements that will be required following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. This will mean working with all involved to ensure British fishermen are represented at the highest level of talks on fisheries management and receive the most favourable deal possible. |
| Over the last few decades British fishermen have worked successfully to improve the sustainability of their fishing methods and the health of stocks in the waters they fish. Their dedication to sustainable fishing will continue regardless of the referendum result. | Over the last few decades British fishermen have worked successfully to improve the sustainability of their fishing methods and the health of stocks in the waters they fish. Their dedication to sustainable fishing will continue regardless of the referendum result. |
| Our main priority has always been supporting British fishermen in running environmentally and economically sustainable businesses. The result of the EU referendum does not change that. | Our main priority has always been supporting British fishermen in running environmentally and economically sustainable businesses. The result of the EU referendum does not change that. |