Bill Carmichael: Lying political classes must shoulder blame for Brexit misery

Theresa May – no doubt as ‘umble’ as Uriah Heep – is allowed a short opportunity to grovel and plead before our EU overlords before she is dismissed to the scullery like a junior parlour maid so they can eat their dinner in peace.

I suppose she can consider herself lucky that they didn’t make her wash the dishes. Then the leaders of France and Germany, together with their unaccountable bureaucrats, pick their teeth over a glass or two of something convivial as they decide exactly how much indignity to heap onto Britain, before Mrs May is summoned back in the early hours to be informed of their decision.

With a weary sigh they tell her they have agreed to a Brexit extension until October 31 under strict conditions and only if we behave ourselves.

It is worth noting at this point that this is an extension that ordinary people simply don’t want. Polls have consistently shown that a ‘no-deal’ exit is the preferred option of Britons – ahead of further Brexit delays or remaining in the EU – but our politicians simply won’t listen.

One question – has ever a country undefeated in war been treated with such open contempt and disdain on the international stage?

My only surprise is that the EU didn’t insist that this week’s deeply shameful events take place in the railway carriage in the forest of Compiegne, where the German and French surrenders were signed in 1918 and 1940.

Let’s get one thing straight – this national humiliation is not the fault of the 17.4 million brave souls who voted to leave the corrupt and anti-democratic European superstate in the biggest exercise in participatory democracy this country has ever witnessed.

The fault lies entirely with the politicians of the main political parties – the Conservatives and Labour – 
who, despite repeatedly promising to honour the results of the 2016 Referendum, have obstinately refused to keep that pledge.

The truth is that our political class has been lying to the British people for the past 46 years.

They lied in 1973 that we were joining a simple trading club, or “common market” that meant no loss of national power.

They lied over the true meaning of “ever closer union” which is explicitly detailed as a political aim in the EU’s founding document, the 1957 Treaty of Rome.

They lied over the massive transfer of powers away from our democratically elected parliament to unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats as specified in the Maastricht and Lisbon Treaties.

They lied that not joining the euro would destroy our economy – when in fact this doomed political project has proved to be an unmitigated disaster for much of Europe.

They lied about the formation of an EU Army – Nick Clegg called it a “dangerous fantasy” – that is happening now and will undermine European security guaranteed by Nato.

They lied that voting Leave in 2016 would lead to economic collapse, the loss of 800,000 jobs and the outbreak of World War Three.

They lied that if we left the EU we would run out of cheese and Mars Bars and we would never eat sandwiches again.

We were so utterly sick of the lies that when we were finally given a choice in 2016 we voted to leave. But, true to form, the politicians are lying again.

They say leaving is proving too difficult and instead we must be forced to keep on voting until we produce a result they find acceptable.

It won’t work. The Brexit genie is out of the bottle. Anyone who thinks we can pretend the Referendum never happened is deluding themselves.

Remainers argue the current chaos is a reason to stay in the EU, but the opposite is true. We should never again put ourselves in a position were we are not in charge of our own destiny.

We should never allow our country’s future to be decided on the whim of someone like Juncker – an international laughing stock. It is time to restore our democracy and reclaim our independence – but we are going to have to fight the establishment elite every step of the way to get there.