There are many things like fruit cake, clotted cream and luxury cars for which the British are justifiably famous. To this list of superlatives we could add a new entry, clueless politicians. It is astounding how the Prime Minister could call for a referendum to take the country out of the European Union without a plan and based on a split vote that does not even command the support of majority of the population. The only conclusive outcome of the referendum is that there will be a prolonged period of uncertainty and no good options to move forward. It would be a far more elaborate process to lower the voting age or to raise the legal age for drinking. David Cameron with his misplaced confidence had taken liberty with the lives of the citizens to play political Russian roulette. A decision with grave consequences had been taken without a plan to mitigate the impact nor with any checks and balances.

David Cameron would likely go down in history as the most clueless and incompetent British prime minister. But it is the antics of his party colleagues that is bringing this drama to new heights of lunacy. None of them has come out with a stand that a second referendum is absolutely necessary despite the fact that there were numerous misstatements, a razor thin margin for the winning side, less than half the population voting to leave and clear evidence that leaving the EU will not be painless and might lead to the break up of the United Kingdom itself. Predictably they are behaving as politicians by claiming to be the saviour, backstabbing former allies and quickly changing sides on the debate. It is clear that their only motive is to move into 10 Downing Street. Another trait of politicians, a complete lack of remorse for the pain they inflict is abundantly in display. There is no mea culpa for the mess that the UK is in now but finger pointing at others.

The entire British politics is in a state of upheaval and politicians of all shades and affiliations are engaging in a fierce food fight while the economy is in a state of shock because of the lack of direction to tackle the self inflicted problems. The opposition Labour party is in disarray. Their members will definitely demand that a new general election must be called before Brexit can be invoked. Whoever is the new leader of the Labour party will have a shot at being the Prime Minister which makes evicting Jeremy Corbyn a more attractive proposition. The Liberal Democrats also see this as the best opportunity to reverse their declining fortune by taking the contrarian position and staking themselves as the party to remain in the EU.

It is clear that Teresa May, Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove or whoever becomes the next British Prime Minister will lead a divided party, face a hostile parliament and will be under tremendous pressure from various stakeholders with conflicting objectives. Those that voted for Brexit would demand a firm date to exit the EU but an equal number would demand a second referendum, Scotland and Northern Ireland would demand their own referendum again and residents of the City of London will appear even more alien in a Britain that they no longer have much in common. It is difficult to see how this toxic mix can negotiate effectively with the EU to leave and the ensuing gridlock will be disastrous for the British economy.

There is a silver lining in this tragedy, it provides fodder for playwrights to come out with another Best of British, political satire.