23/10/2018
This is an articulate letter posed by a friend to his MP Clare Perry.
I would urge everyone who feels we should have a second vote on the final outcome to write to their MP. Irrespective of the individual MP's position on the EU and Brexit, they (the MPs) should listen to their constituents.
My Letter to my MP: Clare Perry
Brexit: Stopping something that isn't going to work.
Dear Claire,
I am writing to you as a very concerned citizen of this country and your constituency.
As part of what I do for a living, I train organisations and people in leadership and project management. I have a very pragmatic background in this as I was a serving officer in the Corps of Royal Engineers and during my time had the privilege of being an Instructor at Sandhurst. I am also now a trainee psychotherapist. I want to make four points related to these different view points.
The planning process of a project can result in its cancellation. Good planning will explore the options and go into the fine detail of laying out how the project will be completed. If it becomes apparent that the aims of the project cannot be achieved within the stated limitations or of course pure common sense, then the responsibility rests with the planners to go back and recommend that the project should not be continued. Have we not reached the stage where it is clear that the options available to us are so potentially disastrous that responsible leadership and management would require this project to be cancelled?
There is a decision making process taught throughout the military called Mission Analysis. One of its tenants is that even when you are launched on a mission, you are constantly reevaluating the information and situation. If there are significant changes to either of these it is the duty of the leader to reevaluate how these impact on the mission and to either replan or even stop the mission. As we have gone on through this process, it appears to me that significant new information has become available and any leadership worth their salt would be looking at this project very critically indeed. That is assuming that the primary objective is the long-term well being of the country. I will return to this theme in paragraph four.
This is not just an issue of practicalities. There is an emotional issue. Friends and allies of the last 70+ years are looking at us as a nation and wondering where our loyalties lie. It is absolutely no point in saying that we are fully committed to the defence of Europe if we have withdrawn form the trading group. If your neighbour suddenly arbitrarily stops taking in the deliveries for you or allowing your children around to play with theirs, do you still absolutely trust them in the neighbourhood watch group? I have had people from other countries openly question me on how bright we are? This shambles is doing untold damage to our reputation as a country and to our relationships with those who we need!
It is the duty of leadership to sometimes make unpopular decisions in order to look after the long term well being and strategic needs of any organisation. This is one of those times. If, of course, the Conservative party is interested in the long term future of this country, rather than holding onto power? There is such a thing as moral courage and sometimes that means standing in front of people and doing what’s unpopular with some for the good of the many. This is one of those times.
It is time for this project to be thoroughly reviewed against the strategic long term needs of this country. That cannot be to be completely isolated from our biggest current trading partner and to be unable to influence those matters that are core to our home area, which is, like it or not, Europe. The options are closing down and a Hard “no deal” Brexit is not a viable option for the strategic good of this country.
If you as a party are not prepared to take that decision then you must hand it back to the people and ask for confirmation of the decision.
Warm regards,
Neil Poynter
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