THE disintegration of Britain, and anything resembling British identity, is ongoing right now in front of us, so how come the rUK government can’t see it? How come that in the pit that is the Brexit shambles, they have time and resources to come up with the idea of a Festival of Britain, post-Brexit?
In a misguided effort to take the country forward they are looking to the past – and what a past. By citing 1851 in particular, have they forgotten that the 1851 event was a reaction to the French Industrial Expo of 1844? Those pesky European French, again! But a very high proportion of what was on offer for the paying public to gawk and wonder at came from “the colonies and dependencies”, and included the Koh I Noor diamond, the world’s largest, “acquired” as part of the Lahore Treaty of 1850. Least said about “treaties”, what was “taken” rather than “given”, or how treaties were broken, promises not kept.
So what might 2022 show? No colonies, no dependencies, or are there? There’s always us, with British whisky, British haggis, our British off shore oil, gas, alternative energy and any other “resources”. But how would it be displayed? If it’s “British”, we won’t be allowed a stall of our own, surely, unless we’re termed something like “Britain: the Northern extremity”. But 1851 saw a stall showing Indian cotton from raw to spun finished, so perhaps that’s what Theresa May has in mind for us: British tartan, British tweed with a few “natives” at work.
To even consider this – prior to tackling the need for food banks, the general downturn in the lived experiences of so many, in work and in poverty, homelessness in tandem with Brexit, commonly known as doing the day job – shows a nationalistic narrow-mindedness that reeks of “I’m all right Jack”. And the jack is deliberate.
The assumption that we will be part of the UK come 2022 is breathtaking in itself, whilst ignoring Northern Ireland, the island of Ireland as well as Wales, the people and their very own ideas of self-identification. The assumption that there is a commonality that is British does more than insult. It demonstrates a complete disconnect from the people that this government supposedly governs.
It has become more apparent from the hysteria that now permeates the Tory party that their time is well and truly over, along with their “identity” as a party that believes it is “building a country that works for everyone”. So move on, May, and take your exhibition with you. You may need it, we don’t. We know who we are, and it’s not as one of your exhibits.
Selma Rahman
Edinburgh
READ MORE: Theresa May's Festival of Brexit Britain plan mocked
YOU heard it first here! My letter to the National, printed on July 31, gave notice of the probable introduction of rationing to combat shortages of food etc following the impending Brexit disaster. And now we hear of the appointment of a minister for food distribution. Here follows prediction number two.
The UK Government’s recent decision not to to give EU migrant workers precedence has sparked concerns by the soft fruit industry about an inability to recruit enough migrant workers during the picking season. Fear not! There is also a World War Two solution to that: loosely described as “direction of labour”. That’s you and me. It might well be being discussed this week in the anterooms – secretly, of course.
We know able-bodied men and women were conscripted to the armed forces and many were away from their homes and families for up to six years. It may be less widely remembered that the civilian population between 18 and 60 were also conscripted to work in essential industries such as munitions factories. We all know about the “land girls”.
The Tories are often heard to suggest that the unemployed should be put to work, and what better than to send them to the berry picking? They would of course lose any benefits while being paid Eastern European wages and sleeping in barns, but it solves the manpower problem. They would also have to take their ration books with them. Free WiFi would not be provided.
Mr Hammond told the Tory conference that he wants the same for their children as he does for his own. So, in the event, they would probably be directed to essential work in the merchant banking industry in the knowledge that the berries would be available for champagne breakfasts.
Robert Johnston
Airdrie
READ MORE: Letters: The rich won't suffer under Brexit Britain rationing (July 31)
SAINT Theresa’s plan for this Festival of Britain is clearly one to keep the population quiet by emulating the Romans’ “bread and circuses”. However she forgets that, post-Brexit, there will be no bread.
Alan Jardine
Kintore, Aberdeenshire
I AM thoroughly enjoying Alan Riach’s column in The National. May I, through the letters page, recommend a seemingly forgotten Scottish poet namely Ruthven Todd? It was with some difficulty I managed to find a copy of his 1962 collection Garland for the Winter Solstice – a truly wonderful collection and well worth my search.
Terry Keegans
Beith, North Ayrshire
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