Once again there feel too many moving topics to capture this week, but I was hoping the briefings coming out of the government over a ‘Deal on the NI Protocol’ might just mean Sunak was bringing back serious government.
Of course all this ‘hope’ that we had moved on from the ‘Brexit Bollocks’ was short lived. Johnson and his allies were soon out of the blocks to use NI as a political football again. Johnson never understood and certainly wasn’t the slightest interested in NI or the impact of the Protocol when he signed his ‘oven ready deal’ Brexiteers have never really been interested in the detail or impact of their ’cause’ but just some stupid jingoistic optics. However, this time their revenge is an attack on Sunak using NI and the protocol as cover. That much is obvious. They don’t do detail, evidence or reality.
I think by now it is clear just how much I detest Johnson and everything he stands for. He epitomises the privileged elite who have held this country back for generations. He cares nothing about the country and its people – only his own advancement and enrichment. His lies are all part of a game in which we are the victims. The idea that this serial liar could be back fills me with dread. But here he is! He is back ‘warning Sunak’ about the “Great Mistake” he is making on the protocol Bill.
The issue of NI and the border were all obvious to everyone who warned of the dangers of Brexit. There would need to be some kind of ‘Border’ if we pursued the hard Brexit Johnson and his muppets demanded. Remaining part of the Single Market or the Customs Union will have alleviated the issues, but the hard liners realised they could push through the hardest of Brexits as nobody really understood the complexities. In discussions I spoke to senior Tory MPs who admitted they didn’t know what the Customs Union was but that they were against us being part of it!! Brexit orthodoxy took over the Tory Party and damaged our country and its economy for a generation.
To be fair to to Theresa May she understood the impact of a border in in the Irish Sea. Although her policy failures and the unnecessary hard line she took ruling out a Customs Union or Single Market membership she did at least understand the consequences for the GFA and Ireland. I don’t suspect for one moment Johnson listened to a briefing or read a detail summary of the impact. As always he thought he would be able to bluster and lie his way through. We saw this when he assured NI Business leaders that there would be no border in the Irish Sea – it would all be fine he claimed.
So we are already witnessing Sunak in full retreat, The potential for a deal this week has receded. The threat of 100 Tory rebels and civil war in their ranks probably means NI will be used as a political football until they can be defeated at a General Election. That General Election cannot come soon enough.
But there is still plenty of time for further damage to be done to our politics. This is a little bit lazy but here is a link to the column from Polly Toynbee.
I don’t feel I need to add anything to this. It expresses my level of anger and disdain for Johnson. It highlights just how much damage he has done already and what impact a second coming would have on us all. Be afraid. I was pretty sure it couldn’t happen. But 100 of his MP colleagues were willing to give this liar another go. As the desperations sets in and the Tories lose hundreds of seats in the May election it is possible even more might be tempted to give the dice another roll and give him a second chance.
View from the Margins 