Britain’s resilient nature is there for all to witness

For all the recent tumult in British politics, HA Hellyer has come away convinced of the country's resilience.

The British prime minister's residence of 10 Downing Street has a new occupant. Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

Earlier this week, a change in power took place in a state that had seen three weeks of persistent political turmoil. For 20 days, the country had been threatened with secession of one of its major constituent parts, tumult in its main political parties and grave uncertainty over its leadership.

In many parts of the world, that might have resulted in a coup, civil strife or worse. But the United Kingdom weathered all of that. Against the backdrop of Brexit, it’s good to take stock of the robustness that still characterises the UK.

It bears repeating what the UK has gone through recently. Only two years ago, the country had a referendum on whether one of its constituent nations, Scotland, ought to secede. It did not require a guerrilla war or some sort of armed conflict to get to that point in 2014, and no one pondered even the possibility of that happening afterwards, irrespective of the outcome.

There are many countries, worldwide, that might be quite envious of that stability.

In the last few weeks, Scottish independence was raised again – and not in the comfort of Scottish streets alone. Rather, it was raised, time and again, in the heart of British democracy itself – the House of Commons. As the now former prime minister, David Cameron, engaged in his last prime minister’s questions, Scottish nationalists once again threatened secession. Except, of course, few describe it in such stark terms.

Nor is it treated as treasonous or traitorous, even though, of course, in most countries around the world, it would be viewed as such if a politicians threatened to break up the state. That’s the UK in 2016.

Three weeks ago today, the UK woke up to the reality that another referendum had been taken – and this time, the result wasn’t what the government had fought for. Britain voted to leave the European Union. Nobody is really sure quite how this will happen but it is committed to leave. It’s been a whirlwind of three weeks – but in that whirlwind, there is much in which Britain can take pride.

I opposed the Brexit because I do not believe it is in Britain’s best interests. Nevertheless, in the space of three weeks, we have had a seismic referendum that has perhaps irrevocably changed Britain’s place in the world.

The country’s two main political parties have gone through huge challenges around leadership and a transfer of power has been carried out from one prime minister to another. Against the backdrop of all that upheaval, Britain has neither succumbed to civil war nor devolved into chaos.

I’ve been concerned about the rise in populist attacks, racism and anti-Muslim bigotry in the aftermath of the Leave campaign. I’ve been apprehensive about the effects of Brexit on the economy. I’ve watched with consternation about the state of the official opposition, as it implodes from within and I’ve noted with disquiet the fast and efficient way that political fortunes have been dashed in the blink of an eye.

But with all of that, I’ve not once thought that Britain might see soldiers on the streets of London, declaring that the democratic process had been suspended. I’ve not once thought that militias might start forming in the border counties between Scotland and England. I’ve not once thought that Britain’s leadership might find themselves summarily arrested and detained owing to political differences with their opponents. I’ve not once wondered if there might be a coup or an outbreak of riots that might take hundreds of lives.

This isn’t a note of triumphalism – there are very good reasons why the UK is safer from upheaval than most parts of the Arab world. Indeed, the UK itself has often been a reason why parts of the Arab world are less safe than they might otherwise be.

But with a new government establishing itself in Westminster, facing a new set of challenges that might have been unthinkable only a few weeks ago, I may wonder what the future may bring.

But I will also know that the UK has shown itself, by and large, to be a nation of resilience and robustness – and that is something that ought to be recognised.

Dr HA Hellyer is a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s Centre for the Middle East in Washington, DC and at the Royal United Services Institute in London

On Twitter: @hahellyer