The Sunday Times had more on the Downing Street 'turmoil' yesterday with an article by Tim Shipman, another man with close connections inside government. He claims there is unity on the so-called route map out of lock down and I suppose we should be grateful for that, but elsewhere there is only discord and disharmony, again much of it centred on Carrie Symonds. She and new senior advisor Henry Newman are apparently referred to as the eye of Sauron - from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If they don't like you, you're out.
Apparently, many Tory MPs are unhappy about Ms Symonds role in government and in deciding policy and people. Secretly, they support calls from the Bow Group for an inquiry but are scared of saying so publicly. The buffoon Johnson seems to have then all cowed, much like the press. I don't think these stories are going away, she has her own enemies in Downing Street who are happy to leak stories that are damaging to her - and indirectly to Johnson.
But it's not just Symonds, Dan Rosenfield, Johnson's new chief of staff also has his enemies:
"Neither Frost nor Lewis felt supported by Rosenfield, who is accused of blocking plans for Frost to become national security adviser. But it is not just them whose noses the chief of staff has put out of joint. 'Dan has created an A and a B team in Downing Street,' said one insider. 'If you’re in the A team, you get to attend the meetings in person. The B team has to use Zoom.'
"This approach created a flashpoint last month when Rosenfield banned Lord Udny-Lister, Johnson’s senior aide, from one meeting, telling him to join by video conference instead. 'Boris went ballistic and demanded that Eddie [Lister] be present,' said one insider. 'He then spent the entire meeting turning to Eddie and asking: ‘What do you think about that, Edward?’ ”
"Others say there was a 'stand-up row' between Rosenfield and Dougie Smith, a veteran Tory fixer who advises Johnson and is married to the director of policy, Munira Mirza, when he tried to consign Smith to the B team."
Shipman says:
"One special adviser said the 'internecine warfare' left aides concerned they would be caught in the crossfire of the new rivalries. 'At least with Lee and Dom, you roughly knew who was on who’s side. Now it’s just random drive-by shootings.' In short, appointments designed to end a culture of psychodrama and dysfunction at the heart of No 10 seem to have sparked yet more of it."
On Brexit and the NI protocol Gove is said to be relaxed about Frost taking over:
"Despite their disagreements, Gove was only too happy to offload his Brexit responsibilities. “I think his view was that Frosty is welcome to it,” said one Tory. “It is slowly dawning on people that the Brexit teething problems are going to be permanent toothache.”
This is I think an accurate portrayal of Brexit. You bellyache for years that your dentist is rubbish and finally choose a new one only to come away from the first consultation with a permanent toothache.
If Gove thinks he can offload the consequences as some kind of minor departmental issue he is mistaken. Brexit will impact the government and the Tory party for decades and his name will be written across it forever. I think he might have come to that conclusion himself.
Ben Habib, the former Brexit party MEP has told The Express that the Withdrawal Agreement has "failed the UK" but as The New European pointed out he joined his colleagues in backing the Withdrawal Agreement when it came before the European Parliament.
"At the time he told Brexit Central: 'When the Withdrawal Agreement is presented to the European Parliament to be approved later this month, I shall vote in favour of it being ratified.'
"But he also acknowledged: 'The agreement itself is a bad one and my faith in the Conservative Party has been very badly shaken, but it is not for me to stand in the way of a genuine democratic mandate, especially since the undertakings given by the government would result in a genuine Brexit.'"
There is a storm brewing over Brexit. It is going badly and everybody is piling in against it. Not only are pro-EU newspapers like The Guardian and the FT running stories cataloguing the disaster, a range of pro-EU organisations like Best for Britain and the European Movement keep up the pressure and are being joined by men like Ben Habib from the opposite side. It can't survive in its present form.
Finally, on the shellfish problem someone on Twitter posted this:
@DNewtonC has drawn my attention to the attached extract from the Border Operating Model published in December. It seems crystal clear that Mr Eustice's department knew very well that shellfish from most (i.e. Class B) British waters could not be exported. pic.twitter.com/n3H0oY6SJC
— Martin Stanley (@ukcivilservant) February 21, 2021
It seems despite George Eustice claiming the 'ban' was illegal and that the EU had changed its position the government knew in December that it would not be possible after Brexit to export live bi-valve molluscs to the EU from class B waters (most of UK waters are still class B).
Another Twitter user tweeted a thread about the issue:
This was raised with government figures as a major concern. It was obviously ignored. We (the UK) helped establish these EU regulations to have a consistent approach for easy, free flowing trade of shellfish. I said a no deal or equivalent would result8/10— Tom Haward (@HawardTom) February 21, 2021
This is just one example of (a) the lack of knowledge in high-level government circles about what Brexit meant and (b) a lack of consultation with the industries concerned to agree a trade deal which minimised border issues.
The rolling disaster goes on while Downing Street squabbles about who's in the office and who's on Zoom continue. May God help us all.
