Brexit has been no picnic up to now and continues to harbour headaches, such as one pill however powerful, will not relieve. But if the Prime Minister is to carry out his well meant intentions for the country; however well disguised or misunderstood they may be at present; it can be said of him that despite all, the propulsion from idea to action has never been broken by self scrutiny ie his confidence in what he does appears genuine. I think the man believes in what he is trying to achieve, and now the question is, will he be stopped by Parliament before he is able to carry out his much fraught vision.

For sure, in all his comments made towards our small nation when he was Foreign Affairs minister and now as Prime Minister, he has shown to be behind us all the way; and surely that should carry weight with us in our present predicament.

CONTINGENCY PLAN

With regards to contingency plans for leaving without a deal; our leaders who have worked their socks off, to put it informally as they say, have been cordially attended to and listened to. With regards to the bigger picture, it has already been leaked that those at Whitehall are preparing plans for imposing direct rule on Northern Ireland. This is yet to be seen. Furthermore it is said that leaving the UK with a no deal Brexit actually weakens Scotland’s bid for independence. We well know how fiercely Spain defends its territorial integrity and it is no secret that both her Majesty and no doubt the Government would want England’s to remain intact too.

Maybe, all along, it was not Gibraltar that was going to be seen as posing a serious obstacle to an orderly Brexit, or according to some, make the Irish problem look like a picnic; maybe it was just about keeping Scotland in its fold!

Jacob Rees Mogg was appointed the leader of the House of Commons; with many saying placed in charge of seeing off legislative formulas that could thwart Brexit. We have already seen his handiwork. Matt Hancock MP who had previously quite vehemently stated “Simply saying you are going to go for a no deal Brexit, is just not credible as a policy option.” Adding that “It’s not going to be available; no matter who is PM.” Lo and behold before the summer recess however, he changed his mind, alleging that the facts had changed; facts which have not been explained as far as I know; and he now no longer thinks that no deal could be blocked by Parliament, as according to him, the Parliamentary arithmetic did not play out as he had anticipated. I mention this because apart from being an interesting turn of events; this can be are the sort of dilemma that can affect us eventually.

For however much I pursue loyalty to those in charge, this does not hinder the fact that one day, assurances we may previously have been given, may be thwarted at a moment’s notice by other influences which come into play; as what happened with Oly Robbins and article fifty, in our case, when suddenly we may find ourselves with a totally different outcome. This having been said, I have read with reference to other overseas territories, Gibraltar being mentioned as having greater clout than the rest.

SMALL SOCIETIES

The society we live in brings greater demands in many areas, including the political arena. Sometimes Governments, despite the size of the community; and we have read that in smaller societies than ours certain practices are not only necessary, but already in place; are in need of other bodies to help them exercise the needs of the community with greater efficiency. Reading up on the question of backbenchers; an issue which appears to have caused much controversy locally; I have come to realize that there is a lot to be said in favour of such a motion, or idea.

As far as I understand it, the duty of a backbencher is to scrutinise Governments, and air their concerns without necessarily agreeing with everything that is being said; i.e. including rebelling against some motion presented which they do not believe in. You may well say that this is the business of the opposition; but we all know from past experience locally, that sometimes the reasons for opposing something are not always based without bias, if you know what I mean.

BACKBENCHER

A backbencher may be a new parliamentary member yet to be promoted to the ranks of minister, if he or she in the long run shows promise, and in this way we are all privy to this. It can also be a minister whom the government decides has given of his or her best in their ministerial capacity, but can still help government with their experience learnt, when relegated to the back benches. It can be someone who prefers to be a background influence but who genuinely wishes to serve the community by listening to their needs, and the opportunity to raise their concerns and their opinions directly to the Chief Minister in due course. Without this link many people would find it hard for their voices to be heard. This is my opinion which, since I have been asked, I humbly relate.

16-08-19 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR