Brexit: How To Prove Rousseau Wrong

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Boris Johnson vs. Jeremy Hunt. Conservative MPs have whittled the list of contenders down to two colleagues, who will now canvas the party membership for support. The prize? To be leader of the Tories and British prime minister. Achieving both is still worth the effort. “Just.” Achieving Brexit adds ineffable lustre to each office; without Brexit, each is little more than a pale reflection of past glory.

Heady days indeed for Tory Brexiteers. Not only have they finally rid themselves of failed premier Theresa May — it lies within their power to anoint a paladin for British independence. Though neither candidate is wholly free of Brexit heresy.

Mr. Johnson lapsed when he feared it was either Mrs. May’s imperfect Withdrawal Agreement or nothing. Mr. Hunt began as a “Remainer” before converting to faith in Britain’s future outside the European Union, while never abandoning his backing for the suspect Withdrawal plan.

Tories should be grateful for the opportunity to be “wooed” for their vote. They serve as proxies for the nation-at-large. Even if Boris is the clear favorite, he should earn their trust for the honor of taking up residence at 10 Downing Street. Don’t hand it to either contender on a silver platter.

Recollect what Rousseau said 2½ centuries ago. “The English people believes itself to be free,” the Genevan philosopher observed in The Social Contract. He felt this a grave mistake. They are “free only during the election of Members of Parliament.” Once elected, Britons are “enslaved” once more and are “nothing.”

Don’t waste this chance to push hard for UK independence from the EU. Brexit fidelity is the sine qua non of British politics for the foreseeable future.

Exiting Europe is only the beginning of restoring liberty — first from the bureaucrats at Brussels. Next from Whitehall mandarins and, ultimately, from the political class at Westminster.

To paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, Britons have not “rolled back the frontiers of the state” from abroad only to see them “re-imposed” at home. Cutting regulatory oversight from Brussels must be carried forward logically, to ending unnecessary bureaucratic red tape from civil servants at Whitehall.

Get this commitment from your next prime minister.

With independence at stake and so many dedicated “Spartan” Brexiteers in the parliamentary caucus, the next Tory leader owes it to Britons to surround himself with talented colleagues. (Letting “detail” ministers prepare the groundwork for Britain’s re-emergence into global trade, this would work to Boris Johnson’s strength.)

Nor can Tories deny the fact of Nigel Farage’s Brexit party. Partisans may blame Mr. Farage for the Conservatives’ collapse, ignoring their own incompetence — and failure to deliver Brexit — for the party’s low standing in public esteem.

Neither Messrs. Johnson nor Hunt is keen to bring Mr. Farage “inside” the tent for discussions on securing Brexit. Yet this internecine conflict only weakens their readiness. Already the headlines warn: “Vote Conservative or Brexit party, and get Labor.”

Near half Tory members realize this reality and welcome collaboration with the Brexit party. Mr. Farage, for his part, has signalled his willingness for a truce. Cannot the next leader make such an avowal as Brexit hangs in the balance?

For the fate of Brexit is linked with whether the Conservative party retains any core beliefs. So the case for limited government, free markets, and personal responsibility remains undiminished. If these ideals are not at the heart of a “conservative” agenda, what sophistry has usurped them?

Were Tory members to fail to hold their next leader — and Britain’s next prime minister — to account on Brexit, they would be negligent in their patriotic duty. “In the brief moments of its freedom,” Rousseau opined, “the English people makes such a use of that freedom that it deserves to lose it.”

He was proved wrong in the 2016 referendum, when a majority voted to wrest British independence from the European Union. Prove Rousseau wrong again. This time, put a true Conservative committed to Brexit in charge at No. 10.


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