Brexit: The closer the date of withdrawal, the muddier the waters

Brexit: The closer the date of withdrawal, the muddier the waters...

The official date for British withdrawal from the EU is set but the closer we get to the date the muddier the waters get with a political establishment that is in a state of flux. There are different agendas and according to a particular agenda the scene changes. One particular actor in the said agenda has been Vince Cable - former Liberal Democrat MP - that lost his seat after a very much criticised coalition with the Conservative Party. The Coalition only lasted five years but the consequences for the Liberal Democrats have been long lasting. From being the third party of British politics, the Liberal Democrats are now fourth behind a political party - the Scottish National Party - that is neither British nor Scottish given its political goal of surrendering more and more powers to the European Union.

In 1997, Tony Blair as Prime Minister proceeded to implement Devolution. The idea was to keep Scotland on board after by promising to re-instant the Scottish Parliament. Under John Major as Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister, the Conservatives had been practically wiped out and Scotland was being run by a Labour/Liberal Democrat Coalition but the threatening presence of SNP was on the horizon. Devolution was an appeasement attempt that went badly wrong. Soon after Devolution, the Labour Party paid a very high price and the SNP took the reins of politics in Scotland pushing ever farther towards Scottish Independence.

During a Conservative government, David Cameron was forced to make promises to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom but it was barely enough to convince Scottish voters not to vote for secession in the Scottish Independence Referendum. The SNP didn't get what it wanted but it became the third party in British politics, pushing Liberal Democrats into fourth place.

The 2017 General Election, a failed attempt by Prime Minister Theresa May to gain an absolute majority made a bad situation worse. The Conservative Party lost its majority and a weakened SNP still had a sizeable representation in Westminster.

Brexit has polarised political parties and both Labour and Conservative became several parties in one. Political fragmentation is all too evident. Labour is divided and Conservatives are divided and what is more nobody could hide what is happening even if they tried to hide what is happening.

This is what led Vince Cable - a party leader without a seat in the House of Commons - to propose the creation of what he calls a new centre party in British politics. Whether this is his way to try to rebrand the Liberal Democrats or a genuine intention to create a new political force remains to be seen. Labour is either pro-Corbyn or anti-Corbyn. The Conservatives are many things. There are those who are openly pro-May, those who are openly anti-May and those who prefer not to show any allegiance while they await developments that will allow them to keep their real intentions under wraps.

March 2019 is not just relevant because it is the month and year when Britain will come out of the EU. For many politicians whose political lives depend on EU membership this means having to think about plan B and plan B effectively means coming back to national politics and having to struggle to remain relevant. The will be competing with those already involved in national politics and competition will be fierce. There is British politics before Brexit and there will be British politics after Brexit.

What Vince Cable talks about - the creation of another political force - could happen naturally as a direct consequence of British politics after Brexit. Both Labour and Conservatives will have to deal with their inconsistencies to remain viable political forces because as things stand it is difficult to see what Labour and Conservatives really stand for.

The grass roots of both Labour and Conservatives are not forgiving. Some MPs might decide to jump out before being pushed. What we know as Deselection is already happening and the partition of so called mainstream political parties is now a real possibility.

Personally, I want Members of Parliament that really mean what they say and political parties who have a clear and demonstrable agenda. A radical change in British politics is long overdue for the sake of having a viable Democracy.