Thank You Allegra and thank you ladies
and gentlemen so I wasn’t trying to be
too late there I think they’re having
some technical difficulties I I noticed
that the red spot was here on the floor
I’m quite used to it as a you actually
get politician to see the red spots on
myself more than anything more than
anything else and Thank You TEDx for
allowing me to have this discussion
today amongst yourselves about why Rex
it happened now I’m not actually going
to rehash the arguments for brexit I
think most of you hearing there every
day by the Liberal Democrats as they put
it effectively in their manifesto I
think you’re hearing it every day on
television and I’m sure that many of you
have argued it over the past few months
yourselves what I want to try and look
at is much more deeply is why someone
like myself who was born in a council
estate called Massiah d Manchester grew
up in Whittington and other council
estate of a mixed-race parentage my
grandfather is a black American I’ve
Jewish grandmother an Irish grandmother
from County Kildare who came over at the
age of 14 after the Second World War you
know I have more shades you know in my
family then that actually actually
replicates this room it’s pretty much
what a lot of Britain is becoming I want
to scholarship to a private school that
was once a grammar school I studied law
at university the first in my family I
became a barrister from there I moved
into the city of London eventually
chairing the hedge fund Lawyers
Association working for some of the
biggest investment banks as advisor why
is it that I would give up an incredibly
well-paid job like that to risk myself
of getting involved in politics to
actually be able to make jokes about red
dots and whether they the people will be
firing at me and trust me you know
sometimes people are firing them at you
from within your own party why is it I
would do that and it is because if you
look at my story of my history my
background my family my friends and the
people that I grew up with
and also those people that I worked with
they’re going to replicate some of those
issues that you have on here now most
people are going to talk about these
issues
you know democracy economy immigration
the future the EU trade and memberships
all of these and many more as
subcategories of that but I’m going to
try and sum it down to three things that
is by for far the most important word of
all not far from here in an oxygen
called Burford in 1649 and it celebrates
on the 17th of May so we’re not far away
from that after me a representation and
history that is significant in the
democratic growth of this country three
people corporal Perkins a private church
and corner John Tompkins have a plaque
on a church in Burford where they died
now those three men fought in the New
Model Army for Cromwell in order to
remove England from a king that was
doing enormous damage to the vast
numbers of people in our country they
believed in something that the removal
of the king could lead to things that
were better for their people and they
helped Cromwell win but they were also
part of something that was amazing in
this country there were part of a
movement called the Levellers who
believed that every man in the country
and it was only men at that time they
believed him that should have the vote
that there should be a parliament that
there should be child by jury that you
should know your accuser there should be
the establishment of the rule of law
well those three men and the Levellers
movement what happened they were
promoting their arguments they were
writing pamphlets
but Cromwell now that he was empowered
now that he removed the King and he was
de facto the king didn’t like these
radical heretical ideas
so with his own part of his army pursued
four of them to that church umber furred
and demanded that they got rid of their
heretical ideas of freedom and democracy
and liberty
well 397 of those soldiers walked out of
the churches and the surroundings and
said no but those three men said freedom
for everybody is far more important than
their own lives so Cromwell slay them on
the spot freedom democracy Liberty rolls
off the tongue so easily doesn’t it but
you almost forget how it was won and who
did it to achieve it as Ronald Reagan
said freedom is not born in our
bloodstream it is something that you
have to nurture care for and look after
and fight for well in our country we did
the Levellers the diggers the pantries
martyrs the Chartists people killed in
Merthyr Tydfil by our own armies simply
for asking for the vote in Manchester
where I was born at a Peter Luhn
massacre dozens of people killed
including two children are hundreds
slain by our own soldiers simply for
asking for the vote and women beaten
outside our own Parliament simply for
asking for the vote for women and in
1969 every man and woman aged 18 got
universal suffrage they could put a
cross on that ballot paper that enabled
them to choose their elected
representatives who could make the
decisions to improve their lives so that
someone like me born in a council estate
could get a free education so that I
could go to university so that I could
become a lawyer just like them and stand
here in an hallowed institution like
this before you Phillip members of my
family have sickness and health can be
treated free by an NHS fought for by the
vote that we could have housing
just for the few but for the many with
social housing simply because of that
vote and what the people who had to face
this saw through the European Union was
that in 1972 everything they they’d
fought for was suddenly handed away so
something they was told was a trade deal
but they knew it wasn’t they knew this
was a bigger project to create a country
with other people making their decisions
and they did not want to be not free but
of course the elite in this country who
knew the idea knew what the intention
was to move from trade to a federation
called them stupid little Englanders and
began to insult them how often did I
hear that through the campaign so the
British people said we’re not going to
listen to you we don’t trust you this is
far more important to us than anything
that’s coming out of your mouth which
word leads to the second phrase
faithlessness the prett british public
over the years have had a trust in their
institutions they trusted academia to be
able to give them the solutions to help
improve their lives through better
scientific and intellectual ideas that
led to things that improved and of
course it did in so many ways we talked
about mobile phones here we talked about
simple things in their home they trusted
that politicians to come up with
economic ideas that improve their lives
and in so many ways they did too but
over the past 20 years they’ve seen that
link between the honesty of our
institutions the media academia even
into those involved in the world of art
and drama and TV I’ve been telling them
lies and also saying something
completely opposite to them when they
campaign to go for the war against the
war in Iraq they were ignored on that
too
when they said that we don’t want to
have a country in the European Union
everyone told them no it’s not going to
be like just about trade they said we’d
get a vote on the Lisbon Treaty came
with a Conservative Party they didn’t
get that and then we saw them putting
their hands in their pockets so whilst
they’re telling us one thing the
politicians were filling their hands and
their pockets with the money through
expenses and the expenses scandal we
could see the rises and wages for those
at the top whilst those at the bottom
were not achieving very much whilst
you’re able to live in housing and
accommodation and beautiful city like
Oxford protected buildings across the
country that were recognized as
important to them in places like
Manchester were knocked down and
destroyed to build horrible horrific
glass and concrete buildings culture was
being removed and replaced to
accommodate the new ideas in this case
large-scale population rising and so
they lost faith in the politicians and
it turns now to this as they lost faith
and stopped voting and we could see for
the electorate’s not just here but also
in the United States you could see it
across Europe people said you weren’t
listening to us so why should we bother
voting it used to be 80 percent voted
for the Conservatives and the Labour
Party look at what it will be over this
general election and the previous few
much smaller much more diminished yes
the other parties include a mile party
of risen what are the right largest
rises are those who don’t vote at all
and those who didn’t vote at all were
significant in this referendum how often
did I knock in the door well I met
somebody who grabbed me and shook my
hands and said I haven’t voted for 30
years
but I’m going to stick it to them I’m
gonna stick it to them in the way they
stuck it to me for the last 20 or 30 of
years and why did they say they were
stuck it to think of the example of
Gordon Brown going to Rochdale to an
area which was a Labour
heartland and meeting someone who had
campaigned in Julian Duffy for the Labor
Party for years and her family had and
her family before that and she had seen
the rise of immigration in the Council
of states that I grew up in in the North
quite significantly
they weren’t happening here in the leafy
areas of Oxford they were having outside
they weren’t happening in Hale in
Cheshire that were happening in
inner-city Manchester and Bolton and
Oldham so she simply asked him a
question what are you gonna do about
rising immigration well we all know what
he did he smiled at her he got into the
car and then was overheard calling her a
bigot he called one of his own side a
bigot for raising the question but the
political elite have done that over the
past 20 years I’ve been called an Oreo a
coconut a disgrace to my race okay I’ve
faded over over time a little bit like
Michael Jackson but naturally there’s
not much I can do about that it’s not
with my genetics but on a part of the
human race and the human race asks the
questions of whether you’re looking at
people’s housing and homes and schools
and you ask yourself as a politician are
you listening to them but know you have
people like Matthew Parris writing in
The Times saying those people were
concerned about immigration or rising
costs of themselves we’re living in
Clacton a place simply where they go to
die or you have that horrific and
disgraceful image of Bob Geldof hiring
an expensive yacht on the Thames
drinking champagne to go out and
challenge the fisherman from the north
who’d come down in boats who had
salaries 1/4 per annum of what he cost
to hire that boat sticking two fingers
at them as they were asking to lead the
European Union so they can get the
fishing rights back and improve their
lives the pure insults of Ferren only
recently talking to some voter saying
aren’t you ashamed for your children
your grandchildren that you voted leave
and I’m so glad too he said no because I
know
no one takes a vote for your children
without thinking about the consequences
or emily Thorne during during a campaign
and a by-election tweeting a photograph
of a white flag in a white and English
flag and a white van saying look what
you’re seeing here the imagery of the
elite was that everybody who wasn’t
outside of their circle is thick stupid
ignorant don’t know what they’re doing
should simply do as we tell them what to
do how often have you heard that in
discussions during the referendum
campaign amongst yourselves how many of
you in all honesty have thought inside
there the same that we know all the
facts and they don’t the difference is
that you have wonderful opportunities as
I did and I saw many of my friends at
university doing exactly the same a
chance to get out that’s why I left a
chance to expand and see the world and
meet other people and be grateful that
you’re part of a class of people that
can do that but you have a moral
responsibility to also understand what
it is like in their shoes I used to make
a joke in debating that I said what I
always like to do is before criticizing
someone is walk a mile in somebody
else’s shoes
because at least I knew that if they
didn’t like the criticism first of all I
was a mile away and secondly I had their
shoes
there’s no humor when I listen to the
politicians of today who all census tend
to come from the same institutions
wonderful article that was written
recently about those in politics and
those who were interviewing them showed
that the vast majority of them had come
from Oxford and studied PPE when you
look at those who go to the Senate and
Congress how many of them have also come
from Harvard or Yale or Princeton
forgiveness snake don’t even start
talking about France well they only
really come from one institution
similarly in Italy Germany slightly
better but the same sort of idea you get
the picture for the last 20 or 30 years
for when I was growing up and watching
Parliament where there were doctor
and binman where the retreat unionists
and lawyers we have seen a contraction
and that is where you come in and where
those who have to understand this fear
with freedom faithlessness being ignored
and demeaned if you’re going to
understand why you lost you have to
understand why we fought hard against
your elite but that doesn’t mean that
everything is lost because one thing is
absolutely clear about this country that
I love so much is that when they’re
talking about immigration
none of them are saying we want no
immigration they recognize that we are a
country of a thousand of melting a
melting pot of a thousand voices from
indigenous white to indigenous black to
mix race families to mix race cultures
from Christian to Jew to Muslim to Hindu
that might have been an issue but
they’re simply asking you to understand
where they are coming from
and this is where I have great hope I
have great hope that you’re now
beginning to understand that being left
behind it ignored – demeaned is not
something that you could sit there
happily and undertake you’re quite happy
to put your hands into your pockets and
give charitable events to those across
the world you know when you look at Bob
saying I want to feed the world
why was he not also creating charities
to feed those in this country as well
when we have food banks think about the
consequences of your actions
to those people and that is one of the
great things that will happen from this
brexit we will now start to understand
once more the real reasons of why’s
those who have been left behind from
globalization are not benefiting and you
can make that change but you can make
that change by embracing the freedom
that we now have don’t allow the
politicians to say we can’t do it
anymore because it’s your–it’s fault
because they’re telling lies if they do
it’s their fault if
don’t improve the housing system it’s
their fault if they don’t change the
electoral system to allow more people to
the goal if elected from different views
it’s their fault if they cannot help us
in energy prices it’s their fault if
they don’t improve the lots of the
people in our country and it’s not
Europe’s and it’s not the European Union
and it’s their fault if they don’t
embrace the world by being outwardly
looking globally trading and engaging in
more positive actions with our neighbors
in the Commonwealth and other countries
I rose here today because I believed in
the positiveness of this country and the
people around it the wonderful people I
see every day I don’t get caught in the
negativity about it as Steve Biko said
confidence is about yourself being free
I feel today I’m free because of those
people in Burford who put their lives at
risk so that I can stand here for those
who did in our history and I’m free
today to say to yourselves there is a
bright open world out there which we
must all engaging and I’m looking
forward to it I just hope that you’re
going to join me on that journey put
away the nastiness that others are
saying put away the darkness of some
disaster that’s that can occur because
you’re here your future is ahead of you
and you are bright and confident enough
to know that the future moves on and the
past is where it is in the past thank
you very much
[Applause]
and gentlemen so I wasn’t trying to be
too late there I think they’re having
some technical difficulties I I noticed
that the red spot was here on the floor
I’m quite used to it as a you actually
get politician to see the red spots on
myself more than anything more than
anything else and Thank You TEDx for
allowing me to have this discussion
today amongst yourselves about why Rex
it happened now I’m not actually going
to rehash the arguments for brexit I
think most of you hearing there every
day by the Liberal Democrats as they put
it effectively in their manifesto I
think you’re hearing it every day on
television and I’m sure that many of you
have argued it over the past few months
yourselves what I want to try and look
at is much more deeply is why someone
like myself who was born in a council
estate called Massiah d Manchester grew
up in Whittington and other council
estate of a mixed-race parentage my
grandfather is a black American I’ve
Jewish grandmother an Irish grandmother
from County Kildare who came over at the
age of 14 after the Second World War you
know I have more shades you know in my
family then that actually actually
replicates this room it’s pretty much
what a lot of Britain is becoming I want
to scholarship to a private school that
was once a grammar school I studied law
at university the first in my family I
became a barrister from there I moved
into the city of London eventually
chairing the hedge fund Lawyers
Association working for some of the
biggest investment banks as advisor why
is it that I would give up an incredibly
well-paid job like that to risk myself
of getting involved in politics to
actually be able to make jokes about red
dots and whether they the people will be
firing at me and trust me you know
sometimes people are firing them at you
from within your own party why is it I
would do that and it is because if you
look at my story of my history my
background my family my friends and the
people that I grew up with
and also those people that I worked with
they’re going to replicate some of those
issues that you have on here now most
people are going to talk about these
issues
you know democracy economy immigration
the future the EU trade and memberships
all of these and many more as
subcategories of that but I’m going to
try and sum it down to three things that
is by for far the most important word of
all not far from here in an oxygen
called Burford in 1649 and it celebrates
on the 17th of May so we’re not far away
from that after me a representation and
history that is significant in the
democratic growth of this country three
people corporal Perkins a private church
and corner John Tompkins have a plaque
on a church in Burford where they died
now those three men fought in the New
Model Army for Cromwell in order to
remove England from a king that was
doing enormous damage to the vast
numbers of people in our country they
believed in something that the removal
of the king could lead to things that
were better for their people and they
helped Cromwell win but they were also
part of something that was amazing in
this country there were part of a
movement called the Levellers who
believed that every man in the country
and it was only men at that time they
believed him that should have the vote
that there should be a parliament that
there should be child by jury that you
should know your accuser there should be
the establishment of the rule of law
well those three men and the Levellers
movement what happened they were
promoting their arguments they were
writing pamphlets
but Cromwell now that he was empowered
now that he removed the King and he was
de facto the king didn’t like these
radical heretical ideas
so with his own part of his army pursued
four of them to that church umber furred
and demanded that they got rid of their
heretical ideas of freedom and democracy
and liberty
well 397 of those soldiers walked out of
the churches and the surroundings and
said no but those three men said freedom
for everybody is far more important than
their own lives so Cromwell slay them on
the spot freedom democracy Liberty rolls
off the tongue so easily doesn’t it but
you almost forget how it was won and who
did it to achieve it as Ronald Reagan
said freedom is not born in our
bloodstream it is something that you
have to nurture care for and look after
and fight for well in our country we did
the Levellers the diggers the pantries
martyrs the Chartists people killed in
Merthyr Tydfil by our own armies simply
for asking for the vote in Manchester
where I was born at a Peter Luhn
massacre dozens of people killed
including two children are hundreds
slain by our own soldiers simply for
asking for the vote and women beaten
outside our own Parliament simply for
asking for the vote for women and in
1969 every man and woman aged 18 got
universal suffrage they could put a
cross on that ballot paper that enabled
them to choose their elected
representatives who could make the
decisions to improve their lives so that
someone like me born in a council estate
could get a free education so that I
could go to university so that I could
become a lawyer just like them and stand
here in an hallowed institution like
this before you Phillip members of my
family have sickness and health can be
treated free by an NHS fought for by the
vote that we could have housing
just for the few but for the many with
social housing simply because of that
vote and what the people who had to face
this saw through the European Union was
that in 1972 everything they they’d
fought for was suddenly handed away so
something they was told was a trade deal
but they knew it wasn’t they knew this
was a bigger project to create a country
with other people making their decisions
and they did not want to be not free but
of course the elite in this country who
knew the idea knew what the intention
was to move from trade to a federation
called them stupid little Englanders and
began to insult them how often did I
hear that through the campaign so the
British people said we’re not going to
listen to you we don’t trust you this is
far more important to us than anything
that’s coming out of your mouth which
word leads to the second phrase
faithlessness the prett british public
over the years have had a trust in their
institutions they trusted academia to be
able to give them the solutions to help
improve their lives through better
scientific and intellectual ideas that
led to things that improved and of
course it did in so many ways we talked
about mobile phones here we talked about
simple things in their home they trusted
that politicians to come up with
economic ideas that improve their lives
and in so many ways they did too but
over the past 20 years they’ve seen that
link between the honesty of our
institutions the media academia even
into those involved in the world of art
and drama and TV I’ve been telling them
lies and also saying something
completely opposite to them when they
campaign to go for the war against the
war in Iraq they were ignored on that
too
when they said that we don’t want to
have a country in the European Union
everyone told them no it’s not going to
be like just about trade they said we’d
get a vote on the Lisbon Treaty came
with a Conservative Party they didn’t
get that and then we saw them putting
their hands in their pockets so whilst
they’re telling us one thing the
politicians were filling their hands and
their pockets with the money through
expenses and the expenses scandal we
could see the rises and wages for those
at the top whilst those at the bottom
were not achieving very much whilst
you’re able to live in housing and
accommodation and beautiful city like
Oxford protected buildings across the
country that were recognized as
important to them in places like
Manchester were knocked down and
destroyed to build horrible horrific
glass and concrete buildings culture was
being removed and replaced to
accommodate the new ideas in this case
large-scale population rising and so
they lost faith in the politicians and
it turns now to this as they lost faith
and stopped voting and we could see for
the electorate’s not just here but also
in the United States you could see it
across Europe people said you weren’t
listening to us so why should we bother
voting it used to be 80 percent voted
for the Conservatives and the Labour
Party look at what it will be over this
general election and the previous few
much smaller much more diminished yes
the other parties include a mile party
of risen what are the right largest
rises are those who don’t vote at all
and those who didn’t vote at all were
significant in this referendum how often
did I knock in the door well I met
somebody who grabbed me and shook my
hands and said I haven’t voted for 30
years
but I’m going to stick it to them I’m
gonna stick it to them in the way they
stuck it to me for the last 20 or 30 of
years and why did they say they were
stuck it to think of the example of
Gordon Brown going to Rochdale to an
area which was a Labour
heartland and meeting someone who had
campaigned in Julian Duffy for the Labor
Party for years and her family had and
her family before that and she had seen
the rise of immigration in the Council
of states that I grew up in in the North
quite significantly
they weren’t happening here in the leafy
areas of Oxford they were having outside
they weren’t happening in Hale in
Cheshire that were happening in
inner-city Manchester and Bolton and
Oldham so she simply asked him a
question what are you gonna do about
rising immigration well we all know what
he did he smiled at her he got into the
car and then was overheard calling her a
bigot he called one of his own side a
bigot for raising the question but the
political elite have done that over the
past 20 years I’ve been called an Oreo a
coconut a disgrace to my race okay I’ve
faded over over time a little bit like
Michael Jackson but naturally there’s
not much I can do about that it’s not
with my genetics but on a part of the
human race and the human race asks the
questions of whether you’re looking at
people’s housing and homes and schools
and you ask yourself as a politician are
you listening to them but know you have
people like Matthew Parris writing in
The Times saying those people were
concerned about immigration or rising
costs of themselves we’re living in
Clacton a place simply where they go to
die or you have that horrific and
disgraceful image of Bob Geldof hiring
an expensive yacht on the Thames
drinking champagne to go out and
challenge the fisherman from the north
who’d come down in boats who had
salaries 1/4 per annum of what he cost
to hire that boat sticking two fingers
at them as they were asking to lead the
European Union so they can get the
fishing rights back and improve their
lives the pure insults of Ferren only
recently talking to some voter saying
aren’t you ashamed for your children
your grandchildren that you voted leave
and I’m so glad too he said no because I
know
no one takes a vote for your children
without thinking about the consequences
or emily Thorne during during a campaign
and a by-election tweeting a photograph
of a white flag in a white and English
flag and a white van saying look what
you’re seeing here the imagery of the
elite was that everybody who wasn’t
outside of their circle is thick stupid
ignorant don’t know what they’re doing
should simply do as we tell them what to
do how often have you heard that in
discussions during the referendum
campaign amongst yourselves how many of
you in all honesty have thought inside
there the same that we know all the
facts and they don’t the difference is
that you have wonderful opportunities as
I did and I saw many of my friends at
university doing exactly the same a
chance to get out that’s why I left a
chance to expand and see the world and
meet other people and be grateful that
you’re part of a class of people that
can do that but you have a moral
responsibility to also understand what
it is like in their shoes I used to make
a joke in debating that I said what I
always like to do is before criticizing
someone is walk a mile in somebody
else’s shoes
because at least I knew that if they
didn’t like the criticism first of all I
was a mile away and secondly I had their
shoes
there’s no humor when I listen to the
politicians of today who all census tend
to come from the same institutions
wonderful article that was written
recently about those in politics and
those who were interviewing them showed
that the vast majority of them had come
from Oxford and studied PPE when you
look at those who go to the Senate and
Congress how many of them have also come
from Harvard or Yale or Princeton
forgiveness snake don’t even start
talking about France well they only
really come from one institution
similarly in Italy Germany slightly
better but the same sort of idea you get
the picture for the last 20 or 30 years
for when I was growing up and watching
Parliament where there were doctor
and binman where the retreat unionists
and lawyers we have seen a contraction
and that is where you come in and where
those who have to understand this fear
with freedom faithlessness being ignored
and demeaned if you’re going to
understand why you lost you have to
understand why we fought hard against
your elite but that doesn’t mean that
everything is lost because one thing is
absolutely clear about this country that
I love so much is that when they’re
talking about immigration
none of them are saying we want no
immigration they recognize that we are a
country of a thousand of melting a
melting pot of a thousand voices from
indigenous white to indigenous black to
mix race families to mix race cultures
from Christian to Jew to Muslim to Hindu
that might have been an issue but
they’re simply asking you to understand
where they are coming from
and this is where I have great hope I
have great hope that you’re now
beginning to understand that being left
behind it ignored – demeaned is not
something that you could sit there
happily and undertake you’re quite happy
to put your hands into your pockets and
give charitable events to those across
the world you know when you look at Bob
saying I want to feed the world
why was he not also creating charities
to feed those in this country as well
when we have food banks think about the
consequences of your actions
to those people and that is one of the
great things that will happen from this
brexit we will now start to understand
once more the real reasons of why’s
those who have been left behind from
globalization are not benefiting and you
can make that change but you can make
that change by embracing the freedom
that we now have don’t allow the
politicians to say we can’t do it
anymore because it’s your–it’s fault
because they’re telling lies if they do
it’s their fault if
don’t improve the housing system it’s
their fault if they don’t change the
electoral system to allow more people to
the goal if elected from different views
it’s their fault if they cannot help us
in energy prices it’s their fault if
they don’t improve the lots of the
people in our country and it’s not
Europe’s and it’s not the European Union
and it’s their fault if they don’t
embrace the world by being outwardly
looking globally trading and engaging in
more positive actions with our neighbors
in the Commonwealth and other countries
I rose here today because I believed in
the positiveness of this country and the
people around it the wonderful people I
see every day I don’t get caught in the
negativity about it as Steve Biko said
confidence is about yourself being free
I feel today I’m free because of those
people in Burford who put their lives at
risk so that I can stand here for those
who did in our history and I’m free
today to say to yourselves there is a
bright open world out there which we
must all engaging and I’m looking
forward to it I just hope that you’re
going to join me on that journey put
away the nastiness that others are
saying put away the darkness of some
disaster that’s that can occur because
you’re here your future is ahead of you
and you are bright and confident enough
to know that the future moves on and the
past is where it is in the past thank
you very much
[Applause]
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