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Josh Withey
Jul 25, 2017
OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images
In a recent piece by political Journalist Rachel Sylvester, one pro-European senior minister has seemingly hit the nail on the head when it comes to Brexit.
It's no secret that the Conversative party is suffering thanks in part to a multitude of often ugly and vocal political splits. Whether it's attitudes towards what type of Brexit we need to be striving towards, or opportunistic ministers hoping to take personal advantage of Theresa May's weak and wobbly position as leader, the Tories are a very different animal to the party who confidently decided to call a snap election earlier this year.
Sylvester's piece forThe Timeslooks at these splits and the damaging nature it's not only having on the party, but also our ability to negotiate properly with Europe.
She states that the cracks in the Tory party are so profound when it comes to Europe and Brexit because they directly relate to "what it means to be a Conservative". Discussing the party's divide between small c-conservatives who value the status quo and stability, to more radical players who seek out 'free-market individualism,' Sylvester concludes that the party of two halves is very much at breaking point.
As insightful as this analysis is, there was another aspect on the damaging nature of Brexit that proved a fascinating insight into the minds of some senior level Tory ministers.
Speaking anonymously to the paper, a pro-European minister told Sylvester that the concept of a "global Britain" was far-fetched:
This row is about the future versus the past. The Brexiteers somehow think we are going to go sailing off into some glorious imperial world without realising that in the modern age we are interdependent.
However, the most revealing, and damning take was this one:
We are stuck in a ‘damned if we do, damned if we don’t’ bind. If we try to cancel exit we destroy ourselves; if we go ahead with it we destroy the country.
People voted for a fantasy.
Shortly after the election results in June, polling company YouGov reported that a majority of Brits believe a good Brexit deal was less likely.
And just this week we have been warned of the possibility of a decrease in food standards to prop up future trade deals, and our growth forecast has been cut by the International Monetary Fund.
A British EU negotiator has also warned today via The Independent that Brexit is going to be "far worse than anyone could have guessed".
But at lease we have that extra £350 million for the NHS...
More: An American wrote this Twitter thread on Brexit and it's eye-opening
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