Johnson's basic proposal to rebel MPs thinking of bringing down his government, is that they should back him because it's the only way we are going to get the deal "we need". He offers this as a reassurance to those who are desperately worried about what happens if we don't get the deal he wants (or we need) and we leave without one. His reassurance is essentially don't worry I'm not actually going to do it. Otherwise, what is the point even trying to reassure?
He is doing no less than he promised in June 2018 when, as Foreign Secretary, he said he was, "increasingly admiring of Donald Trump. I have become more and more convinced that there is method in his madness.
"Imagine Trump doing Brexit, he’d go in bloody hard …
There’d be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would
think he’d gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very,
very good thought."
His entire policy is going at the problem in a typically bull-headed way; shouting about leaving without a deal "do or die" and "whatever the circumstances" is straight out of the Trump playbook and is really intended only to pile pressure on the EU27 - which it is patently failing to do.
This ploy might have a slight chance of success if:
A. The EU didn't pay attention to every word he has ever uttered and know exactly what he's up to.
B. His policy wouldn't inflict far more damage on ourselves than on the EU
C. The EU wouldn't find themselves in an even stronger position after we leave without a deal.
D. We are not going to create a poisonous atmosphere with our nearest neighbour (in a stronger position remember and now hopping mad) from whom we "need" (not want or would like) a deal.
The whole thing must be utterly bewildering to the average leave voter who thought we could have simply walked away in July 2016. All the delay and confusion they were told was a remainer conspiracy secretly working with the EU to keep us trapped inside. But now we have a Brexiteer prime minister and a majority Brexiteer cabinet yet we are still in! Worse, the PM is talking about leaving "do or die"and as if even he can't quite bring himself to do it.
Brexiteers used to talk about the EU as a club of one sort or another. But think about it. We announced we were leaving three years ago and are still sitting in the corner of the bar telling anyone and everyone who will listen without slashing their wrists, that we are really, definitely leaving and nobody should try and stop us. Nobody is trying to stop us. They're just trying to get us to settle our bill and tidy things up. We gave the required two year notice in March 2017 but here we still are. Someone should gently explain we haven't left because it is so mind numbingly complex and the government dare not do it because of the damage it will do.
I am increasingly confident we will never actually leave.
I am off to York shortly to join one of the 65+ protests taking place the length and breadth of the UK today to try and prevent parliament being prorogued. But can I reccommend professor Chris Grey's blog and especially a link he provides to an article by Helene Von Bismarck about prorogation. Chris doesn't post every day like I do but it's quality over quantity.
Finally, the media are constantly complaining that Johnson doesn't give opportunities to be questioned by reporters or indeed by MPs - he has faced just one day in the House since being appointed and rarely gives interviews. His ministers are never available for interview either. But yesterday our prime minister was happy to face journalists. Unfortunately, they were kids from school newspapers.
This is about the level he can cope with.
