DC: a lot to answer for

A report today says the whole terrible mess in Libya is basically David Cameron's fault. It started out OK, when the world had to act to prevent a possible holocaust in Benghazi, stronghold of resistance to Gadafi's rule. He made dire threats about what he was going to do when he marched in there, and even I, usually very wary of interfering with the internal affairs of another country, felt we had to do something. But then the whole thing morphed into a regime change thing, apparently at DC's behest, and from there the situation in Libya spiraled downhill rapidly. Now from its shores, people traffickers dispatch thousands of hopefuls towards Italy on a daily basis, only putting enough fuel in their craft to get half-way, where with any luck they will be rescued, or drown if not. That they are able to do this on such a massive scale is down to the essentially lawless state that has prevailed in Libya since Moamar was taken down.

Saying all that is Cameron's fault may be a slight overstatement, but only a slight one. Now let's look at Brexit. To say he's responsible for the frightful mess this country now finds itself in today may again be a slight overstatement, but again only a slight one. It was his decision to have a referendum, rather than facing down the "bastards" in his cabinet and on his back benches, and he signed off on the decision to have the result decided on a 50% plus one basis. Nice one Dave. Some legacy you're going to have...