The political establishment has failed the British people in the wake of the Brexit vote. Both the Tories and Labour have shown themselves more interesting in internal power grabs and backstabbing than providing any direction for the country, but new political leaders have emerged out of the fray – Sadiq Khan, Nicola Sturgeon, and Caroline Lucas.
The national Labour party is disintegrating after Jeremy Corbyn’s poor performance in the Brexit campaign, but one Labour politician has managed to stand apart from the chaos, and that is newly elected London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Immediately after the vote he made it clear that London appreciates the huge contribution immigrants make to the city, and has focused on protecting London from the fallout.
Khan has been a voice of calm amid Brexitmania, and stood as a proud voice for London’s diverse population in the face of rising hate around the country. No matter if you were celebrating London Pride or the Muslim festival of Eid, Khan was there to provide support and show that London is open and ready to embrace the world with open arms, even if some other areas of the UK are not.
Nicola Sturgeon was made First Minister of Scotland in 2014, but the political chaos that has erupted since the Brexit vote has meant that she has now had the opportunity to step into the power vacuum left behind Boris Johnson’s empty bluster.
Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, and Sturgeon has taken it upon herself to try and find a way forward that best meets the needs of the Scottish people. She has been one of the loudest voices calling for a compromise to be found, where all sides of the divisive Brexit debate could find positives, and has even called for the SNP to be considered the official opposition with Labour incapable of providing a unified voice on anything at all.
Caroline Lucas is the Greens only MP in the House of Commons, but she has long been a popular voice on the left, managing to push for green policies but at the same time appreciate the realities of modern Britain. In the wake of the Brexit vote and Labour in disarray, she has provided direction for the left, faced with a shift of politics to the right as the Tories look to Brexiteers to be the next prime minister.
Seeing the danger coming from the right, Lucas has called on Labour and the Lib Dems to join a progressive coalition at the next election to make sure that the country is not dragged to the right due to an incompetent opposition.
The British people need direction after the Brexit vote, and nothing is coming from either the Tories or Labour headquarters. Luckily, we don’t need to look far for some voices of reason to fill the void.
