The editorial is perhaps the most outspoken:
a man within spitting distance of Downing Street is getting away with deploying utterly misleading information about what might happen in the aftermath of a no-deal Brexit, in order to strengthen his leadership bid....Johnson’s claims [that both sides could invoke a no-tariff provision] contradict the views of trade experts.... no such “clean” break from the EU exists. Britain is not legally prepared for a no-deal Brexit: at a minimum, the government needs to get at least five more bills through parliament. Britain would need to re-establish its independent status as a member of the WTO, not necessarily straightforward if other WTO members try to extract concessions. And the UK’s negotiating position with the EU would be significantly weakened
There are a few old sores to pick at once again:
That Johnson is happy to wilfully mislead voters should come as no surprise. As the public face of Vote Leave in 2016, he claimed that leaving the EU would free up £350m a week for spending on the NHS, which saw the head of the UK’s statistics watchdog accuse him of “a clear misuse of official statistics”. During the campaign, he stoked fears that Turkey was on the verge of joining the EU, despite the fact its application had stalled, but earlier this year claimed that he said nothing about Turkey during the campaign.
Project Fear is dusted off:
A no-deal Brexit will have destructive economic and political consequences for the country. The government’s forecast is that it would depress GDP between 7.7% and 9.3% over a 15-year period and it is the least affluent areas of the nation that will be hit worst in terms of jobs and growth. Moreover, a no-deal Brexit risks the breakup of the UK; it would increase the pressure for a vote on Irish unity and fuel the campaign for Scottish independence.
There is incomprehension and despair that few seem moved by this obvious' common sense':
But his propensity to stray from the truth is doing little harm to his leadership campaign....with Conservative members: more than half say they prefer no deal to the withdrawal agreement.... One poll last week suggests they are so ideological about Brexit that they are happy to countenance significant economic damage, the breakup of the union and the destruction of their own party in order to see it happen. Johnson is currently expected to secure a comfortable victory among them, despite the fact that 40% believe he cannot be trusted to tell the truth.
No liberals have ever polled people to ask what the opinion is of them, of course. I suspect it would be that they cannot be trusted to tell the truth, that they lied about the net benefits coming from EU payments, that economic damage from remaining in the EU and the EU's imperialist plans have been covered up, and that sloppy liberal tolerance and English cultural cringe has encouraged support for 'Europe' and for SoctNattery
Elsewhere in the organ, straws are floating past temptingly. N Cohen seems to have abandoned plans to take to the streets, and instead takes small-c conservative comfort from the trend for all radical movements to end in failure or reversal:
Revolutions devour their children because what is radical one day in a crisis becomes a sellout the next....Brexit has pushed the right into a demonic orgy. It is throwing off the standards it once pretended to abide by – parliamentary sovereignty, family values, monarchism, unionism. For all its rage, don’t underestimate how much it is enjoying the release from its taboos.[Polarisation works both ways]
Not so long ago, a Conservative who had left two wives, walked out on his children and jumped into the bed of a woman almost half his age could never have been prime minister. The Tories were the party of the family and traditional values. Now they are the party of broken families and no values apart from leaving the EU.[ah yes, the days when we all had proper values.But why leave out the nasty ones? Patriarchy? Heteronormativity? Eurocentrism?]...the party of throne and state [!] is willing to provoke a constitutional crisis by ordering Elizabeth II to prorogue parliament....
Johnson gives Conservatives permission to stop pretending they believe in family life or personal responsibility. They can let it all hang out now. Who cares about their divorces and affairs, their dirty secrets and their little swindles? [Only the hypocritical petit-bourgeoisie, and that only for tactical reasons?]
By any empirical measure, the Tory party has ceased to exist. Half of its members support Nigel Farage, who has an effective veto over Johnson’s Brexit policy. Unless Johnson clears his actions with him [ a conspiracy theory?] , Farage can split the rightwing vote by running Brexit candidates against Conservative MPs who provoke his disapproval.
There is a come-uppance for bounders and demagogues nonetheless in the way History itself resists radical change:
He is too fatuous to be a frightening leader, as it is far from clear whether he is leading anyone....When I think of how his supporters will turn on him when his promises prove to be false, or of how his cocky words of June 2019 will turn to dust by October, I could almost feel sorry for the fraud. Almost.
Finally, there is still hope for the Great Parliamentary Coup:
Constitutional experts say new Tory leader could be blocked from becoming prime minister without a Commons majority
Johnson’s legitimacy would be challenged if just a handful of Tory MPs declare that they could not support his administration, according to professors Robert Hazell and Meg Russell from the constitution unit at UCL...“One possible scenario is that a group of Conservative MPs is so concerned about the winning candidate that they declare their withdrawal of support immediately the result of the leadership contest is known – ie, before the new PM is appointed. This would pose a serious dilemma for the Queen and those advising her, because it would not be clear that the new Conservative leader could command confidence.”... "...Theresa May could remain in place and facilitate a process in parliament to demonstrate that the winning candidate – or indeed an alternative candidate – can win a confidence vote, before recommending that person to the Queen.”
Zombie politics indeed.
STOP PRESS Parliamentary Coup #124 failed last Monday (1/6) when an amendment sponsored by D Grieve and Dame M Becket failed to get enough support and was therefore not called by theSpeaker (how did he know?). It would have been attached to the regular Government Finances statement and made it necessary to take no deal off the table. BBC News said it could call on the support of only 6 rebel Tory MPs. Then they said it was 'too soon', fanning hopes for Parliamentary Coup #125
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