Change

Post date: Jul 1, 2016 6:55:16 PM

The world is in a constant state of flux: from the spinning of our planet in the cosmos to the tiniest insect crawling on the ground. The one certainty is uncertainty. Ironic then, in view of the fact it has always been thus, that so many people feel so uncomfortable with change, and even fear it. But change is inevitable and irrefutable. We change constantly (as we must) from mewling babes in arms through life’s stages until we reach the end of our personal story. We fear this end because we cannot know it or practise for it - death is a one time only offer.

Whenever I visit Maidencombe on my walks I am awed by its combined sense of permanence and fragility. Its giant boulders have fallen from its sandstone cliffs and clustered together around its small beach. They provide good, solid footing despite their ramshackle appearance and their unruly tumble. Despite its solidity, Maidencombe is an ever changing place. Subtle changes occur over time, making it simultaneously familiar, yet different. Sometimes changes can be sudden and extreme – earlier this year a trickle of water down the cliff became a rushing waterfall, scouring clean the flat concrete steps at the bottom of the path - and washing away the sand at its base. The result was a virtually impassable route with fast running water over the path and a steep drop beneath. Most visitors chose to clamber over the rocks to access the beach.

Just a few months later the waterfall has been stopped, and the sand has returned - everything is ‘back to normal’ - changed and yet the same. Following Brexit, however, it may take more than a few months for things to stabilise. The shock decision by 52℅ of UK voters to exit the EU has wrought uncertainty across the whole country, with repercussions rippling across the world.

Democracy is, in essence, a fair and laudable process which we value highly. It gives voters the chance to express their views and to change the course of a country’s policies without the need to resort to violence and rebellion. That’s all good - I believe in that. But there’s a problem - it relies on voters knowing the facts and voting according to their beliefs - and that relies on honest politics. I have a feeling that has become an oxymoron. We need facts and oratory, not spin and charisma. Like Maidencombe with its self-evident risk of rock falls (and its danger warning signs) our campaign policy statements need to be honest about the risks and benefits of the measures proposed, and about the political beliefs that underpin them.

Millions voted to leave the EU on the basis of exaggerated claims (some of them deceitful) about the millions that would come into our NHS every week, about future trade with the EU, about the curtailing of immigration, and about the sovereignty that would return us to our former greatness. Before the final whistle had even been blown, the promise about NHS funding was withdrawn; quickly it became clear that trade with the EU requires us to accept freedom of movement across the EU, and it seems increasingly likely that Scotland will choose to leave the UK … which would then need a new identity, a new name, and a new flag.

We need a politics that shows our voters the respect they deserve, just as we must show respect to our stormy seas and changing coastline. People voted in good faith, and it appears that they have been deceived. The safety of a former time that we might wish to return to is an illusion: self-sufficiency, international respect, scientific and technical superiority, centrality in world trade and financial markets, a ‘greatness’ derived from our past - all these things are in the past. We have now entered a new phase, and a time of inevitable change and uncertainty. For a lot of people this change does not feel like a positive one. Like so many others, I did not choose it, but change is normal, and it is natural, and it is here. Like the tireless ebb and flow of the tides at Maidencombe, we need to recognise and embrace this change and move forwards together, with tolerance, kindness and compassion.