I can’t vote. But here’s what I’d do if I could.
Christian Nellemann
Entrepreneur, Founder of XLN, Non Exec, Investor, Mentor and Advisor.
As a non-British citizen, I can’t vote on Thursday. But naturally, I’ve been weighing up the options.
I’ve heard valid arguments from all sides (well, all except UKIP), and it’s clear that the UK faces an incredibly complex decision. Because this is no ordinary election…
Brexit is priority number one
Brexit makes this an election like no other. With 5 years of negotiating, 10 years of extraction and a further 10 years of adapting in store, Brexit will influence everything that happens in the UK for the next 25 years.
The future of the NHS, national security and education are all immensely important too, but they’re also immensely complicated. None of these problems will be solved in the near future whoever you vote for – and besides, we can’t fix everything at once. We have to tackle problem number one – and problem number one is Brexit.
Why? Because get Brexit wrong, and all of these other problems get much worse. Brexit affects everything, and therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, people must vote for whoever they think will handle Brexit in the best possible way. Get Brexit right, and perhaps we have an economy that’s strong enough to support the public services we rely on.
This is a time for heads over hearts
If I was running a company that was about to face a period of transition that presented huge challenges to its prosperity, and I needed to hire someone to manage those changes, I’d be looking for experience over anything else.
I’d also want that person to have the complete trust and backing of their team – I wouldn’t want to have seen any signs of division given what was at stake.
And if I’m honest, even if I interviewed someone else I liked more, who had many excellent ideas and likeable traits, I’d still go for the more experienced person. Why? Because at critical moments, you don’t take unnecessary risks.
In other words, I would vote for Theresa May. By all means, vote Labour at the next election when the Brexit process is fully underway; when our priorities can start to move beyond it. But my logic – putting Brexit first, and choosing the person who appears most likely to handle it well – would see me voting for the Conservatives. Brexit negotiations demand someone like Angela Merkel: sensible, organised, and above all experienced – probably even a bit anally retentive.
Given the choice between Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May, I’d rather Theresa May did my Brexit negotiations.
There are no easy answers. But voters are being told there are.
Over-simplification has been a key theme in the election build up, and I for one find it dangerous and cynical.
For example, according to Labour, if you give more money to the NHS, the NHS gets better. I think that’s shamefully misleading.
A third of people born today will live until they’re 100 years old. By 2040, one in seven Britons will be over 75. And two fifths of the NHS’ budget is currently spent on people over 65.
Yes the NHS needs more money – a lot more. But the problems the NHS faces are frighteningly complex, and it’s crude and unhelpful to say ‘I’ll fix the NHS by giving it more money’. The problems it faces are going to grow exponentially. That means that simply adding to the budget isn’t enough. We need new, transformative ideas – not just about the NHS, but our entire national attitude towards personal health. But try saying that to your average voter: it doesn’t appeal to our need for answers, now.
And as for where that money comes from, we can’t just pretend that increasing taxes on the wealthy is an infinite solution. The richest should pay more – no one can argue against that. But if overtaxed consistently, rightly or wrongly, the wealthy will be less motivated to produce as much; money is a motivator, whether we like it or not. And needless to say, it’s better to get 45% of a large sum of money than nothing at all.
With every issue the UK faces it’s the same problem. There is no easy solution, but voters are being told there is. The reality is this: the challenges we face are bigger than party politics, and pretending we can get to grips with them by voting for one party or another is na?ve beyond belief.
When you face complexity and a long, headache-inducing to-do list, all you can do is prioritise and get started on the most important task. Undeniably in this case, that task is Brexit. And if I was voting, that would be top of my list when making my choice.
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- Christian Nellemann is the Founder and CEO of XLN, a provider of low-cost phone, broadband, energy and card processing services exclusively to small businesses. A serial entrepreneur, he’s a two-time winner of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award and one of only 17 inductees into their Global Hall of Fame. He is passionate about small businesses, and is a featured columnist for realbusiness.co.uk.
- Follow him on Twitter @christianxln
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7 年The fact you think brexit is the biggest issue is mind boggling. Once Upon a time we had a labour government who gave us the NHS. Over time hospitals and emergency rooms have been closed down and massive cuts under conservative governments. All while the highest levels in the NHS drain it with ridiculous salaries. If we continue to allow the conservatives run this country we will face more austerity, more cuts less services, students will have to pay ever increasing student fees. That is just scratching the surface of why voting for the tories is a bad idea. Labour/Corbyn is not the perfect solution but I would rather put my money on a different bet than keep bashing my head against a wall and expecting not to get a headache. Brexit is irrelevant compared to the real problems this country faces and will continue to face if we remain or leave Europe, however long that takes.
Financial Leadership for Growth-Oriented Startups and Small Businesses | Fractional CFO | NED
7 年You would take someone with experience even though they have failed over another candidate? This is a trait we see so often when an exec leaves a failing business to try their hand somewhere else. I'd suggest that sometimes it's better to leave the failing person behind and try something new.
no doubt the voters were fooled but we hav eto deal with the situation we find ourselves in and May is the best chance we have right now and at the risk of sounding like many others Corbyn has done a better job of appealing to the young voters and May is looking stern, and remote. If there is alarge turnout of under 25's on Thursday we may be in for a suprise
Green Technology Consultant | Finding impactful companies and empowering them to grow, creating jobs, social resilience, emissions reductions and positive cascades!
7 年"I’d still go for the more experienced person" - What experience does May have in negotiations of this scale, and do you factor in the fact she doesn't seem to have a spine. She has changed her mind regularly showing how uncertain she is in herself, and what she wants, or thinks she wants. OR the worse side of her recent actions, she has one idea, and those funding the Tory party have different ideas and are throwing their influence in to change her mind... Both of these options are bad. I don't think Corbyn is perfect, but he has integrity, and was heavily involved in the peace process with Northern Ireland, so he does have real experience in negotiations which have genuine importance and will have a substantial impact on a huge number of people. I honestly think he's the more experienced of the two in nail biting situations. Not to mention he has consistently been on the right side of history, when May has voted against animal and human rights (homosexual rights) over the years. Not to mention she wants to increase the level of surveillance to never before seen levels, when she was the one who cut more than 20,000 police, meaning we need more surveillance... the EU have said that if Labour win the election they will delay negotiations to allow labour time to plan and organise, because they respect Corbyn. They do not respect the woman who is fueling global terrorism by bowing to the Americans, and Saudis, currently two of the most dangerous friends to have on our one earth... I do agree with your comments on the NHS and the future problems it will encounter. It needs a real long term solutions, but that does initially start with providing the funding needed to provide the care the people need. As for taxing the rich, given that the Tories want to raise national insurance (they have on several occasions said they wont raise taxes, but will not comment on whether they will raise national insurance, which yes, impacts the poorest of society because everyone pays... above or below the tax boundary) I think taxing those who can afford it, is better than taxing those who simply cannot.
CEO | NED | Interim
7 年I don't disagree with your conclusion but find it difficult to reconcile the outright lies of the Leave campaign, as led by TM's colleagues. I imagine that most politicians will be kept on the sidelines, "huffing and puffing " whilst the real work will be managed by senior civil servants and diplomats, which arguably negates the role of which politicians lead the process. Anyway, I can't disagree with your points and conclusion but sincerely hope that there are less sound bites and more pragmatism from whoever does win, relative to their electioneering and previous form.