Britannia once ruled the waves and much of the world, today British polity is in a shambles

When Theresa May exits 10 Downing Street soon most likely having failed to deliver Brexit, it would mean that Queen Elizabeth II would have seen off 14 Prime Ministers. One cannot forget that two of those leaders — Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair — served for over a decade. And Britons are not placing much hope on the choice of leaders that will replace her in the Conservative Party. In such a situation, one would have supposed the Opposition to rise to the challenge but the Labour party is also riddled with strife. While voters in the prosperous south-east of England are still opposed to leaving the European Union and are demanding another referendum, it is almost certain that parties advocating leaving the European Union will do extremely well in, ironically, elections to the European Parliament. Where Great Britain goes from here is anyone’s guess, but it is not going to be a land of milk and honey. At least, England stands a good chance in the cricket World Cup.

Other democracies in the world must learn from Britain that direct democracy, where the electorate is asked to take a decision on a major economic and political issue, is not advisable. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister who called the referendum, will go down in history as being the man who threw the country into turmoil and promptly ran away from the mess he had created. Much has been written about the Brexit campaign on both sides and now movies are being made as well to unequivocally state how easily the ‘leave’ campaign hijacked certain issues and how false narratives can confuse and terrify voters. There is a reason we elect politicians into Parliaments. They have to take the tough decisions. Sure, they should listen to the worries of their constituents but one expects them to be better informed and educated than the average voter and not let emotive issues change the way they vote. The Brexit referendum was a disaster at many levels but it was at its core an abdication of responsibility by politicians. And as the rest of the world is learning that promising your voters that they could eat their cake and have it, too, when those promises depend on someone else acquiescing, is nothing better than lying. The British negotiations to leave the European Union have been torturous for the rest of the world to watch, let alone for British citizens. Britain has produced some remarkable leaders over the years, it might be time for some to emerge again.