deal or no deal
Calm down, dear, I’ve been on me hols. Paraphrasing Cameron’s jibe at Angela Eagle reminds me, lest we ever forget, the whole purpose of the referendum vote was to quell the fractious decades-long, almost generational, bickering & backstabbing within his then-party. Not only did it achieve exactly the opposite, it succeeded in contaminating the whole nation with its polarised, side-taking approach.
So, I’ve been off-grid for almost a month and it was with eager anticipation and, not a little trepidation, that I felt it necessary to catch-up with exactly where we are on our ‘Brexit journey’. Spoiler alert – it ain’t pretty. And it ain’t going to improve anyone’s Monday morning mood.
Apparently accepting that a no-deal could be on the cards, the negotiating party have, in my absence, seen fit to shoe-in Dominic Raab as the new Brexit secretary, and boy, didn’t he make an immediate impact with Michel Barnier. Well, no. ‘Nul points’ appears to be the award from French holder of all the cards and more of a disservice Raab could not have done to all the other rabbits caught in the glare of oncoming headlights. His woeful performance was sooo shabby that No 10 immediately snatched back control of negotiations. Furthermore, appearing completely oblivious to the fact that over half our food comes from abroad and 30% from the EU, Raab then confirmed that officials wouldn’t be stockpiling as that’s the job of the food industry. Go figure.
With May’s third-way now floating belly-up in La Manche, the cabinet is now cobbled together from the two retrenched opposing sides of the divide, each dug-in and accusing the other of despicable lies & spin. How exactly is this meant to work?
In negotiating with Brussels, we are hovering somewhere between delusional and deranged. Insisting on blustered concessions that have been neither offered nor mentioned; suggesting bullsh*t fixes that have already been rejected or are too far away technically to have any relevance; showing-up with nothing to trade and refusing to concede anything before capitulating on everything. If it were a blockbuster you’d change channel, if it were your team you’d rip-up your season ticket, were it a pet you’d have it put to sleep.
It’s becoming increasingly clear there’s no appetite in the Commons for any kind of Brexit and those-in-the-know are coming round to the idea of a second referendum. A second dereliction of duty will see MPs throwing the baby out with the bath water and handing it back to the electorate to decide if it’s to be a ‘no deal, we’re outta here whatever the consequences’ exit or ‘sorry, we want to stay and what terms can we do so on? remain’.
Meanwhile, still refusing to leave his tax-payer-funded ‘grace & favour’ Westminster pad, Bumble Boris remains holed-up with Trump’s architect of anarchy, Steve Bannon. Be afraid. Be very afraid…
