The sun will shine tomorrow

And because of this, I worry for the future of our country. In recent months, we have witnessed debate in the House of Commons that has exposed and laid bare the level and scarcity of leadership by those we expect to deliver. I blame them for the mess we are in over Brexit, and understand what historian David Starkey meant when he wrote “think they are giants and ape the gestures of the parliamentary greats of the past”.

It is unbelievably sad to watch Parliament do its level best to destroy a nation that has given so much to the world. Unlike them, I do not fear the “nightmare” they say will be suffered after Brexit, because as an independent, sovereign nation we have always found a way, come what may. Instead, I am more concerned with the means by which our politicians will govern after the event. Following damage sustained by all main parties in this conflict, born from desertions and betrayal of party allegiances, how will the political balance level out when ambitions are achieved?

Where are the leaders in our hour of need, such as those of yesteryear? The political giants such as Thatcher and Churchill, or even Wilson and Callaghan, each who would have stood head and shoulders above these present-day actors. They would certainly have more of a lionheart in them than what has been witnessed for the past six months or so. Their kind of moral conscience and sense of loyalty would unite a divided country, instead of the quibbling, subterfuge and prevarication of late, and would lead the Commons with urgency, conviction and a sense of duty. Today’s clutch of wannabees seems to be more interested in vote-catching, self-preservation and at the behest of a chattering class.

And talking of which, that leads me into commenting on the professional, educated elite that fill Westminster’s bars and restaurants and who might bend the ear of elected members - those who manage business, and to some degree, politics, through control of others. They look on Brexit as a serious threat to all they enjoy. It challenges their security and future comforts, and has grown into a full-blown fear and anxiety of what to them will be uncertain times.

But life is full of uncertainty, so we cope and learn to live with anxiety by dealing with what we know, rather than trying to change what we can’t. In childhood, our parents taught us many life-skills, and learning how to survive was just one of many. We should know how not to panic when waiting for a bus, and that when two turn up together, how not to worry about which will get to our destination first because they both do, eventually.

But the political class feels an exceptional level of uncertainty because they fear anything indefinable, as they have no control of it. Having lived in their bubble for so long they cannot realise what should be inherent in them from childhood – we get there in the end. I expect that, with them, the unease will remain until we reach the other side of Brexit. Only then will the fear be dispelled and their stress found to have been needless and unnecessary. They will discover what both you and I already know - the sun will shine tomorrow, and with it a day of opportunity.