Truth commission

We need a Brexit truth commission. There were so many lies told during the referendum campaign, on both sides of the argument, that something needs to happen to heal our divided nation. We can’t brush it under the carpet and hope it will go away. Neither can we continue in the belief that somehow we can get Brexit to work, we can’t even decide what it means (even though we all knew what we were voting for!). We can’t blame the remoaners either for not believing hard enough and expect them to somehow change their minds.

No, too much water has flown for these things to happen. We need some openness and honesty, we need a Brexit truth commission.

From Wikipedia: A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past.

That’s what we need as there have been wrongdoings by both government and non-state actors which have led us to this terrible mess.

The UK is finally waking up to the problem. The BBC is, at last, using the B word and even the Telegraph has admitted that project fear has become reality.

The problem is that such things require government sponsorship. Only it has the authority to define the remit and scope of the commission and appoint a chair and secretariat. None of this is going to happen when the very government that got Brexit done is still in power. The elections in 2024 may present an opportunity but even then I suspect it will be too early. The parties that are likely to form the next government, both Tory and Labour still seem wedded to the idea that questioning the referendum of 2016 will cost them votes This is despite public opinion strongly saying that the decision to leave the EU was wrong.

Brexit was supposed to be done but it’s not and never will be until we face the uncomfortable truths that it is still a divisive issue in British politics. In the end we need a truth commission.