In spite of his old age, Grumpy admits he has always harboured a politically incorrect frisson when seeing old photographs of Anna Soubry. She has the look of a girl who, shall we say, enjoyed a full social life before marriage and responsibility called, if you get the drift.
That aside, the fact is that she is an unprincipled hypocrite who has recently turned her back on the constituents who voted for the party she the was a member of. Further although Broxtowe, her constituency, voted to leave in the 2016 referendum, Soubry has subsequently consistently disregarded party policy, the citizens who voted for her to represent that party – note, not for her – and the wishes of Broxtonians in the referendum. This in spite of having voted previously to leave the EU, for the 2016 referendum, and for the serving of the Article 50 notice.
Any principled politician would stand aside immediately so that her constituents could be represented by someone who subscribed to the policies they voted for – but not her.
However, that is almost a minor sin in comparison with her attempt to bend truth in her pursuit of frustrating a democratic process. This subversion takes many forms, but Grumpy will use just one, telling, example here.
To deny the results of the 2016 referendum and her voting record in support of leaving would be a step too far. So instead, she (along with Chuka Umunna and the other rattus rattus ship jumpers in The Independent Group), are promulgating the fiction that “people didn’t vote for…”, and “people will have changed their mind now they know what is involved”. Setting aside the arrogance of purporting to know what motivated ‘people’ (somehow lumping them together as a homogeneous set with the same motivations and beliefs) this is simply not true, and Soubry knows it.
David Cameron, in the throes of regret in having called the referendum, made a number of widely distributed presentations on exactly what it would mean. His final throw, two days before the referendum was standing outside Number 10, in a network wide broadcast. Here are just some of the statements he made to the nation as a whole:
“Expert after expert … have said it {leaving the EU} would shrink our economy . In the short term facing recession; in the medium term, enduring a decade of uncertainty, and in the long term, living with fewer jobs, lower wages and higher prices”
He went on “Remember, they {children in our schools} can’t undo the decision we take. It we vote out, that’s it. It is irreversible. We will leave Europe – for good. and the next generation will have to live with the consequences.“
Grumpy is of the view that all of this was not really relevant to a large number of the 17m. They were fed up with the EU. They were fed up with politician A saying something was white and politician B saying it was black. They gave no credibility to any of them. Further, they were repeatedly told by the establishment that they would be idiots to vote “leave”. Justified British bloody-mindedness reigned, and as a body they said ‘whatever’ and voted “out” to be done with it.
How was this picture of gloom not clear to the listener ? Read it again. Soubry said they didn’t vote to make themselves poorer – read it again ; they did. Soubry said they didn’t know what it wold entail – read it again; they did. Soubry would have us believe that they somehow disregarded this highly credible testimony and subscribed fully to a picture of the world offered by a buffoon like Boris?
The sad thing is that in spite of this, for 3 years the political establishment has been fighting their own partisan wars, and ascribing to the populace their own twisted and unjustified analysis (by telepathy?) to fit their own prejudices. Westminster should be hanging its collective head in shame. Remainers should careful of what they wish for – they are banking that a re-run would go to remain. Grumpy suspects that there may well be a shock if that happens – so back to square one.