Brexiteers' contempt for Ireland
Brexiteers' continued attempts to demonise Ireland, one of our firmest allies, is one of the most repulsive parts of the Brexit project.
Brexiteer attitudes towards Ireland give one of the clearest indications of the neo-imperialist undertones inherent to Brexit. There is little recognition of Ireland as a separate state that is seeking to protect its own interests and regular outrage at Ireland expressing an independent foreign policy that is more aligned with the EU than the UK. While Brexiteers do not attack France or Spain for supporting a united EU position, they react with venom when Ireland does so.
Part of the reason for this is an entirely one-sided view of the UK's relationship with Ireland. Brexiteers often seem to believe that Irish independence was essentially a bad thing and that the Irish are simply confused. The Brexit supporters believe that there is a "natural" division in the world between continental Europe and the Anglosphere, with Ireland being clearly in the Anglosphere camp.
In reality, of course, the Anglosphere doesn't actually exist. Its supposed members do not have any particular formal links between them nor do they show greater political or economic interaction. It's also apparent that the view of Irish people is never taken into account in this world division given the overwhelming popularity of EU membership in the country. This lack of contact with the real world does not cause Brexiteers to rethink their worldview, however, and drives them to see Ireland aligning itself with the EU as a form of betrayal.
If Brexiteers were serious about making a good job of Brexit they would be pressing the UK government to engage in intense cooperation with Ireland in order to reach a common view of how best to tackle common challenges, most obviously the land border. They would seek to understand that the Good Friday Agreement is regarded with immense importance and that a hard border is politically and socially disastrous. They would see how the decision to leave the customs union and Single Market force the imposition of controls at the border unless a special arrangement is made for Northern Ireland to stay in those structures.
What they do instead is insult the Irish, attack their leaders and throw a strop anytime someone points out that their plans are unworkable. Their behaviour with regard to Ireland shows us that they have no interest in good policy making or attention to details and are instead only interested in satisfying their own egos and engaging in nationalist grandstanding. Far from seeking to build "deep and special" partnerships, they just want everyone to give them what they want at no cost to themselves.
Across the board, Brexiteers are trashing our reputation and our friendships in the name of "national pride". The UK's relationship with Ireland is the one that is closest to home and if things carry on as they have so far, may have the most tragic consequences.
Brexiteer attitudes towards Ireland give one of the clearest indications of the neo-imperialist undertones inherent to Brexit. There is little recognition of Ireland as a separate state that is seeking to protect its own interests and regular outrage at Ireland expressing an independent foreign policy that is more aligned with the EU than the UK. While Brexiteers do not attack France or Spain for supporting a united EU position, they react with venom when Ireland does so.
Part of the reason for this is an entirely one-sided view of the UK's relationship with Ireland. Brexiteers often seem to believe that Irish independence was essentially a bad thing and that the Irish are simply confused. The Brexit supporters believe that there is a "natural" division in the world between continental Europe and the Anglosphere, with Ireland being clearly in the Anglosphere camp.
In reality, of course, the Anglosphere doesn't actually exist. Its supposed members do not have any particular formal links between them nor do they show greater political or economic interaction. It's also apparent that the view of Irish people is never taken into account in this world division given the overwhelming popularity of EU membership in the country. This lack of contact with the real world does not cause Brexiteers to rethink their worldview, however, and drives them to see Ireland aligning itself with the EU as a form of betrayal.
If Brexiteers were serious about making a good job of Brexit they would be pressing the UK government to engage in intense cooperation with Ireland in order to reach a common view of how best to tackle common challenges, most obviously the land border. They would seek to understand that the Good Friday Agreement is regarded with immense importance and that a hard border is politically and socially disastrous. They would see how the decision to leave the customs union and Single Market force the imposition of controls at the border unless a special arrangement is made for Northern Ireland to stay in those structures.
What they do instead is insult the Irish, attack their leaders and throw a strop anytime someone points out that their plans are unworkable. Their behaviour with regard to Ireland shows us that they have no interest in good policy making or attention to details and are instead only interested in satisfying their own egos and engaging in nationalist grandstanding. Far from seeking to build "deep and special" partnerships, they just want everyone to give them what they want at no cost to themselves.
Across the board, Brexiteers are trashing our reputation and our friendships in the name of "national pride". The UK's relationship with Ireland is the one that is closest to home and if things carry on as they have so far, may have the most tragic consequences.
Comments
Post a Comment