Former PM says Britain is being torn apart by "toxic nationalism"
Former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has created a major political splash by claiming that the United Kingdom is “sleepwalking into oblivion”.
Brown, who served as Labour PM from 2007 to 2010, made his incendiary comments in the wake of Boris Johnson’s ascension to the premiership.
Writing in the Observer on August 10 Brown claimed that the union was facing its most “serious constitutional crisis since the 17th century”.
Brown uses two major inter-related political issues as the foundation for his grim analysis: the imminence of a no-deal Brexit and the rise of Johnson’s hard right Tory government.
Brown argues that Johnson’s divisive leadership style is ill-suited to keep “four nationalisms – Scottish, Irish, English and also a rising Welsh nationalism – at bay”.
The former Labour PM references recent opinion polling to strengthen his argument that the union is coming apart at the seams.
This is Brown’s second intervention in the UK’s increasingly heated political debates. In late June he warned that the union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is “more at risk” now than at any time in the past 300 years.
Brown’s intervention is important as he is widely regarded as, arguably, the greatest intellectual force in British politics for a generation.
Whilst his three-year stint as PM was not judged to be a resounding success, nevertheless, Brown accumulated supporters from across the political spectrum due to his thoughtful approach to big political issues.
It is in this context that Brown also attacks Johnson’s chief strategist, Dominic Cummings, for depicting the House of Commons as the “enemy” in a “people v parliament” election.
Cummings is increasingly viewed as the brains behind Johnson’s sprint toward a no-deal Brexit and associated political objectives, notably a more insular and nationalist Britain.
Brown’s latest warning of an impending massive constitutional crisis is set to intensify national anxiety over Britain’s uncertain future.
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