After successfully engineering the removal of Britain from the European Union, leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage, has decided to quit and ‘get his life back’.
Stating that his political ambition had been achieved, Mr Farage leaves in his wake a political mess the likes of which Britain has never seen. It seems unbelievable that the referendum on whether Britain should leave or stay in Europe was less than two weeks ago. In those 10 short days, the country has seen its Prime Minister David Cameron resign, Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party under threat, Nigel Farage’s co-conspirator Boris Johnston quit the race for Conservative Party leadership and Scotland declare that a second referendum on independence is highly likely.
Announcing his decision, Mr Farage said, “I want my life back, and it begins right now.”
The vote was just the first stage in a long and complex process, with Britain’s leaders now tasked with negotiating the best exit deal for the country. And thanks to Mr Farage’s gloating to the European Parliament, “When I came here 17 years ago and said I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well I have to say, you’re not laughing now,” we can’t imagine it’s going to be a particularly easy task.
Since the vote, which was an incredibly close 52 to 48 in favour of leaving, there have been protests, reports that people didn’t know what they were voting for, back-tracking from UKIP on campaign promises and calls for a second referendum. In the wake of Mr Farage’s resignation, a second poll may not be such a bad idea. After all, if the campaign’s main protagonist can’t be bothered to see it through, why should anyone else?
Do you think a second vote on Brexit should now be called? Do you worry about the political uncertainty in the world?
