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An individual, of no great importance, who is unable to see the natural world as a place for competition. I catch fish, watch birds, derive immense pleasure from simply looking at butterflies, moths, bumble-bees, etc - without the need for rules! I am Dylan and this is my blog - if my opinions offend? Don't bother logging on again - simple!

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Saturday 2 July 2016

Have I no voice?

It's been a week since the result of the UK "Brexit" referendum sent shock waves around the EU and caused total meltdown of our political parties. Finger pointing, doom & gloom, hysterical nonsense spouted by passionate academics and learn'ed souls alike. "We must remain within the EU!" Well sorry chums, the democratic process has decreed otherwise - we're offski! I cringed at the latest antics of Nigel Farage - he would have made a better show of his political pedigree had he remained silent - yet there's no doubting the accuracy of his statement! "No one's laughing now"
There's also nowhere, I've encountered, where the "leave" stance has been given fair portrayal. Boris and his, backstabbing, partner Michael Gove have provided scant incentive to support such disloyalty in a leadership vote?  The exit camp are completely lacking in any stand-out candidate as is the remain camp - we await the emergence of a phoenix from these devastating political ashes.
So where do I fit in all this constitutional upheaval? I voted "leave" without any hesitation, or doubt. I'm a proud Englishman, no lesser right than any Scot, Irish or Welshman has, not  racial prejudice, just pride in my birthright. I am a member of an extremely large and patriotic family whose generations have lost loved ones fighting in two World Wars. In my head, there are the very basic issues of Sovereignty and our Judiciary which have been completely sold down the river since those brave ancestors fought to provide the foundations for "A Land Fit for Heroes"  Successive governments, of whatever political persuasion, have glibly signed away our national identity as the "Common Market" morphed into, a German led, Federal Europe.
As a leave voter, I have been subjected (bombarded more-like) to criticism from those on the opposite side of the debate. I am racist, short-sighted, old, uneducated and many other things, which some political journalist/commentator or educationally aloof individual has stated in support of ignoring the democratic process and the will of the people. Just how much more of a demonstration of being out of touch with reality do I require to witness in order to confirm my own opinions of those in power being unwilling to listen, unable to grasp the very basic truth of this momentous decision. The UK now finds itself at a cross-roads, in a political void, with no obvious candidate, in the entire party political system, with enough personality and charisma to lead us through the leaving process and re-unite an extremely divided nation. In our industrial hub, we have some world class leaders, guys with passion and vision to steer their businesses into the future, conquer new markets and embrace technological change - they are the envy of the world. Jaguar Land Rover has a management team which would shame any political group, with their ambition, drive and united desire to succeed, but they are far from unique within our manufacturing sector and might just provide the answer to our joint future. Whoever rises from this whole, unsavoury affair, to steer us into the new dawn might do well to seek assistance from within this group of visionaries with their proven track record for delivering success.
As a leave voter, I object to the generalisations, the labelling implied by others who failed to win the debate, because they were unable to sway the opinions of the undecided to their way of thinking. I am not a racist or un-educated, although I am now sixty, I have an idea of what I want to happen to this great nation as my grand-children grow up and, remaining within the EU isn't part of that future. We haven't left Europe, we've simply left the cozy "mates club" not been towed out into the Mid - Atlantic. Geographically we are an island off the coast of mainland Europe and will remain so, whatever else happens. As I've spent the vast majority of my working life in manual labour, I have been part of the developing business culture of "continuous improvement". This has a basic task of seeing change as a good thing, encouraging the workforce to "challenge" excepted practices and see the opportunities in any given situation, not the difficulties. Maybe this positive mind-set is what is required, by the entire UK, as we prepare to move on?



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