The UK government would appear to be in the throes of crisis, with the resignation first of “Brexit” secretary David Davis and then foreign secretary Boris Johnson, following a “soft Brexit” process hammered out by UK Prime Minister Theresa May in a 12-hour meeting of cabinet ministers held incommunicado at Chequers, the PM’s country residence.
The deal was yet another twist in the torturous Brexit saga, which has become a nightmare for those who had imagined that a “yes” vote would yield a quick exit, a return of the gold standard, hogshead beer measures and British India. It has become increasingly clear to them that there is to be no swashbuckling free trade deal to be made between the UK and the EU. It’s either a customs deal — which continues EU control over large parts of UK laws — or no deal at all, simply an exit, which leaves trade processes in limbo, and the question of the six-county/26-county (Northern Ireland/Republic) border in chaos.
The process has been tearing the Tory Party apart for months and May’s shotgun meeting was a desperate move to quell the internal warfare. The deal she imposed is a complex idea of a “common rulebook” and “combined customs territory” in which UK and EU law will align on particular trade conditions, and the UK can set tariffs on non-EU goods but not on EU goods, without disturbing the “rulebook”, and arggggghh, it’s a headspin.
It also locks the UK into EU law — by ongoing consent — which is a hard Brexit no-no. So “hard Brexiteers” such as Davis and Johnson resigned immediately out of principle. Oh, sorry, of course not. Davis waited a weekend, sniffed the wind and decided there was no upside to staying in a likely doomed government, and went — and Johnson, having hoped he might cling on, had to go when Davis went.
By the time you read this, others may go as well. That would allow May room to fill her cabinet with Remainers willing to support a “soft” Brexit, but leaves her with the problem David Cameron faced, such as what prompted him to call the referendum in the first place: a cabal of plotters gaining critical mass day-by-day. Will Johnson now make a tilt for the leadership? Would they elevate Jacob Rees-Mogg, ancient Wykehamists and Salopians thus being joined by the first Wodehousian PM, walking straight out of a Jeeves and into Number 10?
Nothing further happened of consequence in the hours between your correspondent’s filing and waking. The Guardian farewelled Boris — for now — in fine fashion: “good riddance to a useless national embarrassment” their headline read, which would be tough to fit on a cake, but well worth a try. Boris himself gave the kiss of the whip, noting that with the “common rulebook” deal, Britain would be “on the way to status as a colony”, leading Twitter to ask “there’s something wrong with being a colony?” of this charter member of the British Empire crowd. Hilarious. England may win the World Cup, and the team will bring it back to a country that runs like Brazil.
The thing is, any idiot could have predicted (and mostly did) that Brexit would be a dead cat from the very first moment it was suggested. That the UK could ignore the flipping obvious and take it to a vote was the shock – and every day since has been a genuine popcorn series.
This thing will end badly, and will the Brexiters accept responsibility for having polled the entire edifice upon the country’s head?
Unlikely.
The Brexit vote should have resolved any indecision, about which way the Poms proceed.
Politicians do not know whats best and what the people want, and it is not their right to change a referendum result to suit themselves.
“Hilarious. England may win the World Cup, and the team will bring it back to a country that runs like Brazil.”
Pure gold Guy. Well worth a koala stamp. 🙂
Indeed – worth a week’s subscription, that one.
Nice of Bovva Boy to confirm the inferior status of we colonials. We always knew it but I don’t recall it having been spelled out by our betters so clearly before.
Pax Romana, Pax Brittanica, Pax Americana – it all ends in tears.
Can’t wait, the architect co-clown (with Farage) who led Britain into Brexit leading the Tories into the next election …… “Boris & The Johnsons”?
Britain is in so much trouble that Farage and Boris are likely to move to France.
Nigella’s father, Lord Lawson, exChancellor and arch Brexiteer, recently applied for, and received, permanent permission to live in France.
This will turn out to be an act of national self harm which could lead to the sundering of the Union with Scotland resuming its original position as a european aligned independent nation.
The DUP, all Leavers, who support Mother Theresa, are a minority in NI which voted overwhelmingly Remain.
Now, about that border thingy…
Did May support the leave campaign or is she simply tasked with implementing someones cock-up?