​Theresa May is the leader we need for Brexit

This general election has demonstrated May's worth at the negotiating table in Brussels

​Theresa May is the leader we need for Brexit

"Strong and Stable Leadership."

"Brexit means Brexit."

Sound bites May bombarded us with during the election and the 10 months prior. While, at the time, we believed these to be mere platitudes, they are actually as coherent a plan as we have really been offered and that is political genius.

Imagine the ensuing drama had May offered a solid, tangible plan to Brexit. It would undermine her negotiating position and her ability to utilise her best political tactic - the flip-flop.

Her election campaign was undermined by the press reporting her as unstable; U-turning on essentially every manifesto pledge. A manifesto that appears to have been binned entirely if the Queen's speech is anything to go by.

But I posit that this isn't U-turning. This is May flexing her political might by demonstrating her amenability and pragmatism; able to think on her feet and throw political curveballs. Imagine her sitting in Brussels, demanding something one day and then completely reversing her decision the next. Genius! The EU won't know what hit them. Success is guaranteed.

Yes, in general, people seem fixated on the negatives without seeing the positives.

Yes, this political uncertainty has caused our currency to slump 20%, making imports, food, electronics, and holidays more expensive. But that means we can instead capitalise on the tourist market…. if we can only convince them we aren't isolationist, xenophobic and intolerant of anyone who doesn't have gravy pumping through their veins and a Nigel Farage picture in their wallet.

Yes, there has been validation and perpetuation of intolerance, resulting in an increase in racially motivated attacks in Britain. People say this is a bad thing, but it's simply another shrewd political move to make Britain more similar to our key ally - the United States. Trump will see the work we are doing to deter anyone coming over and will be sure to give us a trade deal. Until he revokes it because someone tweeted something nasty at him, that is.

Even her weak demeanour in the House of Commons is all a clever rouse. Everyone loves a good underdog story - we've seen that much in Corbyn. Theresa May is now positioning herself as the underdog - constantly attacked by Comrade Corbyn until everyone sees just how unfair it all is. Already the press is turning on her, which is all part of the master plan to mobilise people against the mainstream media.

Follow this thread to its evident conclusion and we can see that Theresa May, our knight in Amanda Wakeley armour, is actually getting ready to deliver the biggest political bombshell of our generation - Britain's support and active membership to the EU.

Think about it. We have been an EU member since 1973 and to say we've been an awkward member is perhaps an understatement. Demanding rebates, refusing to incorporate EU law in a timely manner, and expecting numerous opt-outs, we have been a complete pain in the arse. Additionally, the public has grown increasingly skeptical about the EU and that obviously came to a head in the referendum where the overwhelming majority by 4% voted to leave.

So imagine the political acumen required to turn public perception of the EU around to the point where staying in feels like a compelling option. Already we are seeing that people are growing increasingly concerned about how the negotiations are(n't) being handled, and worried about how their standard of living has been affected. Once May starts talking about ripping up our human rights and disregarding food standards, environmental and consumer protection and privacy, we will surely be begging to stay in. After all, who really needs fire and building regulations? It's just political red-tape designed to stand in the way of progress!

May's ineptitude over this matter is a political sacrifice to steer public perception back in favour of staying in the EU. By this point she will be highly versed in the art of 'U-turning' to agree the best possible deal for us… one that is slightly worse than the one we have.

Given the complexity and selflessness required to implement such a masterful stroke of political ineptitude, I have come to the conclusion that only Theresa May, with her cold, misanthropic personality, can lead us to the best possible Brexit. The one where we never leave.

Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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4 Comments

  • Luke Taylor

    On 26 June 2017, 11:19 Luke Taylor Contributor commented:

    This is a very...complex article.

  • Keith Adamson

    On 22 July 2017, 23:48 Keith Adamson commented:

    Yes..you have to unravel the facts from the sarcasm, I think.

    I find so much of what has occurred in the last year incredible - in the most literal sense of the word. That Cameron should have risked the referendum to gain support for his pro-Europe stance, without at least specifying that it would need a two-thirds majority, smacks of the same foolhardiness with which Theresa May called the recent election.

    Such chaotic and haphazard behaviour is only to be expected from a government, of which the majority considered leaving the EU to be potentially disastrous, and now, in spite of that opinion, are forced to put the matter in hand because it is the 'will of the people'. The inevitable consequence of forcing our elected representative to act contrary to their beliefs and instincts, and contrary to the advice of the majority of economists, bankers and industrialists.

    After May's installation, many commentators made the point that she was in a 'no-win' situation. The last twelve months has proved this to be so, and it will remain so, even for her successor. This runaway train cannot now be stopped, because if it were, the intransigent leavers will revolt. They will revolt anyway, because as their complete refusal to face the dismal facts becomes harder to sustain they will have to blame someone else for the catastrophic result of their democratic choice.

    But what is really incredible is that, unlike almost any other political stance, where it is possible to listen to both sides of the argument and think 'well ...they might have a point there' and then 'but I can also see where they are coming from,' the arguments in favour of Brexit appear simply to fly in the face of reality. Look around you, see what is happening, wake up! And if you continue to deny that there is a problem, if you really think this is only a blip, and that we shall all benefit from this opportunity in the long run, then get back to me this time next year and let me know if you still think that. You don't have to be pessimist, or need any special insight to realise that a runaway train heading for a cliff edge is going to fall of the edge of that cliff.

    Whatever you think of Vince Cable, Paddy Ashdown, or even - God forbid - Tony Blair, there's a reason these people are shouting "for God's sake, stop!"

  • Philip Avery

    On 1 September 2017, 15:22 Philip Avery commented:

    As a stand-up comedy routine it might get a few larfs from people who really love their sarcasm. But as a piece of political writing it looks as if the author could be a politics graduate with an unhealthy obsession with Batman who spends most of his nights sand-blasting his mind with computer games.

    Hey, whadyaknow, I was right. The 'Masters' in journalism chimes with the state of political journalism on all things Brexit.

  • Lawrence Gbemi

    On 11 September 2017, 19:39 Lawrence Gbemi commented:

    I voted for Theresa May because she is the patriotic one, who as a remainer, understands the meaning of democracy. Brexit means Brexit.
    This great country will realise later that we have managed to take the best decision in a generation by leaving this political project which the politicians signed us in to through the backdoor. It was supposed to be economic union. This project will fail and sink like the Titanic but we would have dodged the bullet.
    I have voted for labour party all my life beginning with the 1979 general elections which the then Jimmy Callaghan lost to Maggie Thatcher. However, I found it difficult to vote labour in the last general elections because I could see that Labour party was in disarray and would have mortgaged our future to the EU bureaucrats at whatever price, as long as we remained in the single market, free movement et al. It will be like the biblical Esau who sold his birthright for a mussel of pottage.

    The Labour party election promises were empty Father Christmas wish-list which they could never deliver on.I remembered Jeremy Corbyn fiddling with his Ipad in vain when asked about the costs of these promises, David Lammy telling us our going to the polls was advisory only,Chuka Harrison Umunna saying the referendum result was cataclysmic, and please don't mention Diane Abbott forgetting her simple primary school arithmetical additions. These are MPs who would have been running a labour government, God have mercy on us!
    David Cameron threatened us that leaving EU means leaving the custom union as well as the single market and repeated this several times during the campaigns. We all knew what we voted for in the referendum, so stop patronising us. At least after Brexit, every nation will be on the same level playing field when it comes to citizenship, working regulations etc in this country whether one is EU born or from South America, Asia or Africa.

    The EU negotiators have been unreasonable, rigid and most times insulting the intelligence of UK citizens in "not grasping the enormity of the negotiations".
    However, which woman will be foolish enough to agree to a divorce before the discussions with her husband on the sharing of assets or even access to the children in the marriage? The EU wants so much money to cushion the effect of what they know will be equally catastrophic for them. Maybe we should come up with our own divorce bill as our money over the years helped to build all these projects scattered all over Europe.
    This is not negotiations at all and Theresa May should not cage in to these unreasonable demands.
    At the end of the day, we will go through a period of hard times but this great country will bounce back. It is better to have the pains now and free ourselves from the shackles of EU so we can tap into the opportunities provided by the whole wide world.
    The strategic location of this country as an Island, the English language (as the unofficial EU language), the economic prosperity, connections with the rest of the world, et al makes this country "the J.R of Dallas" (the man you love to hate but can't stop loving).
    It is actually the EU that will be hard hit monetarily, economically and socially by our decision to leave and they know it!

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