Before his election as leader of the Tory party there could have been few people who were unaware of Johnson's reputation for slipperiness, mendacity, betrayal and general incompetence. Being 'manically disorganised' you might say is his single most distinguishing feature, right up to his hair. Apart from having "I am an untrustworthy imbecile" tattooed across his forehead it's hard to know what more he could have done to let people know what a Johnson administration would be like.
Nevertheless, first the Tory party and then the general public elected him and we are now seeing all of his early promise fulfilled - in spades.
His government is becoming a byword for ineptitude, incompetence, chaos and stupidity. Tory MPs are becoming restless to say the least, particularly the constant U-turns - a consequence of having no convictions or fixed policy ideas. They don't like being seen supporting a position which the government abandons within hours, they tend to look even more stupid than usual.
One might excuse him because the pandemic was unforeseen and has proved hard to bring under control. It has certainly knocked the economy well off course but his handling has been shambolic - at best. The relentless cheery optimism is starting to wear thin among his own side.
But all the rest has been his own fault. He launched Brexit with his columns for The Telegraph attacking "Bwussels" back in the early 1990s, laying the groundwork for UKIP and Farage and now, he is reaping the whirlwind. Setting deadlines is proving totally counterproductive.
It is difficult to recall anything that Johnson has actually achieved after a year or more in office. I mean is there a single thing that he's done that actually worked out OK? He might have pointed to the WA last October but since then people have lifted the stone and don't like what they see underneath. His own side are now openly talking about renegotiating it.
It is difficult to recall anything that Johnson has actually achieved after a year or more in office. I mean is there a single thing that he's done that actually worked out OK? He might have pointed to the WA last October but since then people have lifted the stone and don't like what they see underneath. His own side are now openly talking about renegotiating it.
As I posted yesterday, we heard the anguished cries of the freight industry who suspect and fear that the borders will not be ready in time and they will be blamed. This follows the food industry warning that time has already run out to get new food labels ready in time for January and we may not be ready to export processed foods to the EU next year simply because the government hasn't clarified what should appear on the labels.
Faisal Islam at the BBC reported on the Communities Secretary taking powers through secondary legislation to override planners in 29 local authority areas and build emergency lorry parks - presumably to handle the fallout from the lack of preparation for our borders.
Govt just changed law to grant emergency planning permission for it to build “temporary” [up to 5 years] no trade deal Brexit lorry parks in 29 council areas citing no space for infrastructure needed by year end, & pandemic “may haveaffected ability of port operators“ to build pic.twitter.com/RsfoKpq6Bx
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) September 3, 2020
In the face of calls for an urgent meeting with logistics bodies, the Transport Secretary told reporters he was "absolutely confident" that supply chains will keep moving after Brexit. Obviously Robert Jenrick doesn't share his confidence otherwise he wouldn't be building emergency lorry parks all over the country.
It all suggests a government in chaos with the right hand not knowing what the left hand is going to do next. All this is a consequence of Johnson's entirely political decision not to extend the transition period.
Westminster watchers seem to assume he calculated it would be to his advantage to stick rigidly to the end of year deadline, now just weeks away. But that assumption is looking dafter by the day.
What we have seen this week from the freight and food industries is just a forerunner. Soon the chemicals industry and car manufacturers and farmers will add their voices too. Johnson will be under severe pressure as the economic forces in this country force him up against the immovable rock face of the EU27 who can hardly believe their luck.
David Frost is starting to look like Chemical Ali, Saddam Hussain's spokesman who was still forecasting victory even as he himself was surrounded by US troops. He tweeted this yesterday:
3/3 From the very beginning we have been clear about what we can accept in these areas, which are fundamental to our status as an independent country. We will negotiate constructively but the EU's stance may, realistically, limit the progress we can make next week.— David Frost (@DavidGHFrost) September 4, 2020
Frost is going to look the next biggest fool after Johnson in the next few weeks.
Finally, The Telegraph has an 'exclusive' : Michel Barnier to be sidelined by EU leaders in bid to break Brexit deadlock. I think this has been planted by UK sources. It is a bit confusing to say the least since the text says firstly:
European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is set to be sidelined by EU leaders in a bid to get a breakthrough in the negotiations about a trade treaty with the UK. Representatives of the bloc’s 27 member states expect Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, to pave the way for heads of state and government to intervene in the deadlocked talks in a September 16 flagship speech.
But later it seems to indicate he reverse:
Mr Barnier had been lobbying for leaders to get involved but those overtures have been rebuffed by Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, who is unhappy with the lack of progress in talks. That would mean Brexit would only be discussed in the next European Council meeting in October, ahead of the end of the month deadline.
For the last word I leave to this tweet from Michael Acton a reporter in Brussels who checked with officials close to Barnier's team:
Finally, The Telegraph has an 'exclusive' : Michel Barnier to be sidelined by EU leaders in bid to break Brexit deadlock. I think this has been planted by UK sources. It is a bit confusing to say the least since the text says firstly:
European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is set to be sidelined by EU leaders in a bid to get a breakthrough in the negotiations about a trade treaty with the UK. Representatives of the bloc’s 27 member states expect Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, to pave the way for heads of state and government to intervene in the deadlocked talks in a September 16 flagship speech.
Mr Barnier had been lobbying for leaders to get involved but those overtures have been rebuffed by Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, who is unhappy with the lack of progress in talks. That would mean Brexit would only be discussed in the next European Council meeting in October, ahead of the end of the month deadline.
“Utter bollocks,” says EU official close to Barnier’s team.— Michael Acton (@MActon93) September 4, 2020
No, I’m not joking, that is legitimately what a source just told me.
https://t.co/ZD1E61b20H
