In some ways I feel sorry for Theresa May speeding off to the United States to meet Donald Trump. The reality is that she has no choice she has to be seen to be making the best of it. May has to be seen to getting a good deal otherwise Brexit is just going to look like the flop it already is. The EU is sticking to it’s guns and is going to make it hard for Britain. Yes it’s going to be a Hard Brexit after all but May feels that she deflect and distract from all this by harking back to the ‘Special Relationship’ that her predecessor forged with another questionable president running the USA. To me it all smacks of desperation since Trump has openly said that it will be ‘America First’ so really what does Theresa May really hope to gain from her US visit to Trump?
Well the main thing that she hopes to gain is a little more time and a little more public confidence. The facts of a Hard Brexit are beginning to stack up now and the Pound is weakening which adds doubt and confusion to the mix. This in itself could be enough to persuade quite a large proportion of the ‘yes’ voters that maybe it’s not worth the risk after all when faced with the realities about pulling out of the EU. Uncertainty is gathering like a black cloud on the horizon and it’s heading this way now.
It appears now that Theresa May may have jumped the gun a little bit last week when she embarked upon her now infamous and meaningless statement that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ she probably did not realise by the end of the same week last week she would be more exposed than she has been since accepting the office of Prime Minister. Keen to salvage some credibility she has gone off cap in hand to meet the new elected President of the United States of America. Desperate also to deflect from the psychological battle she lost last week in the Supreme Court, where the outcome must have been a huge disappointment to Theresa May, and also desperate to reinforce her misguided preachings that Britain will be better off outside the EU, May has been forced to long haul it to the States to make out that a ‘Special Relationship’ with the USA will be our salvation.
Yes the outcome of Supreme Court Appeal fell far short of her expectations and has forced her to concede that she is unable to act without the consent of Parliament. This makes it far easier to openly scrutinise what she achieved to date in her negotiations with the EU which is, well, absolutely nothing at all. Parliament will now get the chance to see what kind of an exit Brexit Deal is on offer and whether or not this will actually be the Hard Brexit that it is surely anticipated to be: and which it no doubt will be. All this has completely exposed Theresa May and made it very difficult to hide anything so what does she do well the next best thing available other than start a war she makes the best of it by harking back to the Thatcher Era ‘Special Relationship’. Things will be ok so long as we have America on-board. Well at least this is the message that Theresa May is keen to propagate.
However the reality may be something quite different. Donald Trump has been elected to do what he promised for good or bad and our special relationship may be nothing more than than a lip-synching mime. Yes so far it has served a useful purpose for May to detract from what is really going on but is there really going to be any real substance in these claims of a ‘Special Relationship’ with the USA? My belief is that no it cannot have any real meaning or substance. Donald Trump has re-affirmed his vows to put America first. This especially means in terms of trading relationships with the rest of the World including Britain. This translates to greater controls on imports and a protectionist style geared to force Americans to buy American products. To achieve this he has to make imported goods less competitive and less attractive to American consumers. This can only be achieved by trade tariffs and Britain will not be exempt from this at all. Are we so blind or arrogant to always think that Britain is a special case and deserves to be treated any differently from any other country in the world. Some in Britain have a very blinkered view and maintain that we will not get a Hard Brexit and this seems to include the PM Theresa May as well. Well of course we will as I have said before we are going to be made an example of. The EU are not going to make us a cosy little arrangement to suit our needs. The EU needs to survive it needs to hang onto it’s membership and the membership needs to be something of value to aspire to otherwise whats the point in having the Club in the first place if there are no perks. They are not going to give Britain what it wants in a cosy little arrangement otherwise all the other countries will want exactly the same terms of departure and saying they also want to leave the Club. The EU will act in a protectionistic way when it comes to Brexit and it is not difficult to understand this after all this is just commonsense. The EU needs to protect itself and it’s interests otherwise it will dissolve away.
So as May now turns to the America’s dinner table it somewhat feels as though Britain may not really be a welcome or invited dinner guest. It appears that we may be more like a hovering vulture circling the kill for the last pickings or picking over the crumbs on offer at Trump’s table.