Its one of those expressions. It can be irritating, but we all know what it means. And sometimes it’s the best way of saying it. It says that there are some things that we all know about but we don’t talk about. For one reason or another they are off the agenda. Nonetheless we know they are there, looming over us. Brexit has its own herd of elephants that wait patiently to be acknowledged. They refuse to go away. So perhaps its time to say hello.
Elephant 1. Lost prosperity.
The Office of Budget Responsibility estimates that as a country the UK would have been about 4% richer than it is, and will be, if we had stayed in the EU.
They say you don’t miss what you never had. But you do miss it when you see that others who made a different choice- the countries of the existing EU- are prospering more than we are. Whether we name that elephant or whether we don’t. Its still there.
Elephant 2. A wider world for our children and grandchildren.
Study and travel opportunities to EU countries for Britain’s young people closed down with Brexit.
There have always been great long-haul opportunities as well, but they are generally more expensive and time-consuming- not so easy or so often for most people. Europe is near, after all. And the EU offered an olive branch on this just recently, with a proposal to make European work and travel easier for young Britons. Really helpful, really hopeful. A step in the right direction? Sorry, no. Both main parties have made clear they are not interested. Another bit of our lost future that is still lost.
derby4europe 