I have been intrigued, and also amused, by the reaction to Boris Johnson over the weekend.
Take this from Beth Rigby of Sky News yesterday:
A year ago you said there'd be a border him the Irish Sea - and I quote you "over my dead body" - and here we both are, there is a border in the Irish Sea. Were you lying when you said no border or did you not understand the treaty you signed over Brexit? https://t.co/5W1KjDIVWy
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) June 12, 2021
The video is worth watching: she did not hold back, basically telling him he was a liar on the Northern Ireland protocol.
Gary Gibbon did the same on Channel 4. I don't think Peston was much kinder: he has definitely turned.
This morning the Guardian says:
The issue is simple, but worth highlighting in stages.
The UK signed up to take Northern Ireland out of the UK single market. No one forced it to. It could have done no deal with Europe. But it chose to have a deal. This was part of that deal. The UK chose to split its single market, leaving Northern Ireland in the European market.
The UK now seeks to deny this, saying Northern Ireland must be in the UK single market. That is impossible under the terms of the deal it signed with the EU.
The EU say the deal was written in English to make sure we understood it. We must honour it as it was written. The demand is entirely reasonable.
Johnson uses the threat of loyalist paramilitaries to seek to threaten the EU and peace in Northern Ireland to support his claim to ignore this.
The US has issued the sharpest possible rebuke to the UK.
Johnson says it's time the EU agreed the UK demand. But the UK has no demand it can make: it has already agreed the issue. There is no ambiguity. There is a border in the Irish Sea. We agreed it. The reality, as the EU points out, is that we are refusing to do what we agreed, which is to police it.
Johnson is trying to claim the EU is being inflexible. But that's as absurd as claiming that a contract for the sale of a car can be fulfilled if a cow, which the other party never asked for and does not want, is supplied instead.
Nor is Article 16 to the Protocal of use. That says it can be suspended in an emergency if that proves to be necessary. But you can't claim a suspension for something that has not yet started, which this arrangement has not. Johnson is on very dodgy ground there.
All Johnson actually proves is that he is not a person of his word. It's hardly a surprise. He never has been. He never will be. He has always presumed rules are for others and are waived for him. But that is not how this deal can work. It is not what will happen.
What is the outcome? I think it will be ugly. And I greatly fear people will die in Northern Ireland as a result. The UK's status in the world, already harmed, will suffer greatly. And all for Brexit which is still a project in pursuit of a goal, unless it is racism.
Add to this very obvious crisis to come the end of the Covid bounce as lockdowns continue and there is an obvious question to ask, which is how long can Johnson last?
But then the question is who comes next? And there is no good Conservative answer to that.
We really are in a deep, and very dangerous, mess.
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“Reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth”
George Orwell, 1984.
Tom McTague teased out of Johnson what he believes in ‘The Minister of Chaos’ (The Atlantic, July/august, 2021): that “the point of politics–and life–is not to squabble over facts; it’s to offer people a story they can believe in”. The facts, the reality, the outcomes do not matter; what matters for Johnson’s Britain is providing the public with a believable story. “People live by narrative,” Johnson told McTague.
The narrative Johnson is selling is ‘Global Britain’. The problem for Johnson is that in the real world, beyond the reach of Britain’s easily led neoliberal media (in spite of the examples Richard offers above – too late!), or the undeniable and almost certain continued devotion of Conservative electors to the underlying idea is quite, quite obvious: nobody outside the narcissitic British political bubble believes a word Johnson says, or now an agreement he signs. Johnson is no longer trusted, and Britain is consigned to the same outcome.
You do not need to believe me. I refer you to two recent British diplomats: Sir Nigel Sheinwald, a former ambassador to the US and the European Union, who told Martin Fletcher: “His [Johnson’s] style gets in the way of handling foreign relations in a serious, responsible way at a time of real difficulty for this country… I don’t think he’s been at all helpful to the UK national interest, and I think that’s very regrettable indeed” (‘The joke’s over — how Boris Johnson is damaging Britain’s global stature’ New Statesman article, 4th November, 2017); or Sir Kim Darroch, who resigned just before Boris Johnson became PM, and identified Johnson as a reason for his departure.
We knew what Johnson was in 2017. The British public voted for him anyway; it is what they wish to believe, and that should tell you all you need to know – about contemporary Britain, not just Johnson. You work it out; I have had quite sufficient of all this; I just want out, and Scotland is the only vehicle I can rely on, which can deliver the required outcome.
If there is the same narrative across the broadcasts it is very likely coordinated. The ejector seat reason is being readied. Bozo is going to be allowed to wander off to his Seat at the Table and billionaire lifestyle.
The mainstream media is not allowed to have individuals going off-piste.
For example the BBC’s venerable Europe EDITOR Katya Adler has NOT tweeted a single BrexShit comment for many many months – in fact her last 2 tweets dated to middle of May were about the attack on Gaza.
Not a single tweet since.
The MSM snake oil merchants are once again deploying mirrors and flash bangs and smoke (which as the yanks put it – is being blown right up our ..fundaments).
Orwell is entirely relevant, especially Hate Week and Two Minute Hate. Currently we are being encourage to hate the EU, footballers taking the knee, anyone with a complex view of history, students in the Middle Common Room at Magdalen College, immigrants of any form, and anyone taking the government to court.
Sadly it works. I cannot see sanity returning here for many years. Sorry for gloom, but this to my mind is the world as it is.
I just have to hope you are wrong
I think he is only interested in what he says on the day he says it and getting the positive (well, in his eyes) headlines from it. If it proves, either on that day or in subsequent days, to be absolute rubbish (which has happened often) then he will say something else to get ‘positive’ headlines even if that contradicts what he has previously said. And the whole process will keep repeating itself.
Sadly, even if he does go, the possible replacements almost certainly will be a case of ‘same horse, different jockey’.
As you say, a dangerous mess…. and very, very worrying.
Craig
“I think he (Adolf Hitler) is only interested in what he says on the day he says it and getting the positive (well, in his eyes) headlines from it. If it proves, either on that day or in subsequent days, to be absolute rubbish (which has happened often) then he (Hitler) will say something else to get ‘positive’ headlines even if that contradicts what he has previously said. And the whole process will keep repeating itself.”
One could be in Germany in 1930. The technique is identical & the MSM seems unwilling/incapable (pace – the exceptions mentioned) of holding Mendacious (Hitler) Fatberg’s feet to the fire on a consistent basis. I’d also suggest that many Uk serfs have internalised/accepted the current Prime Mincer’s mendacious nature. Civilised people in the UK (Germany 1930) look on (looked on) stupified.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, solidly written into a legally binding international treaty that was passed by both the British and European parliaments, is only one of several points of Brexit with potential to blow up. This morning ,The Observer does us the favour of listing them: Checks on imports; EU ‘settled status”; Impact on services; Worker shortages; Fishing.
The haste to conclude the process of leaving the EU encouraged sloppy thinking and the ultimately unsatisfactory conclusions on the part of the British government.
Sticking, therefore, with the renowned and world- famous principle of the three word slogan, it is clear that our prime minister has moved on from “Get Brexit Done,” to the eminently more suitable “What a Pillock!”
In the agnotological age, it’s not what you can see that is important; it’s what you can’t.
Johnson will survive because there are I believe some well heeled and rather powerful forces/puppet-masters behind him.
Remember that puppets always look rather ridiculous don’t they? That’s done on purpose to draw you in and forget who is pulling the strings.
I hope your son makes a good recovery.
I have to say that I look at Johnson and his wife and I cannot believe they are cavorting with those leaders of the G7. Considering all the talented people have worked with in the public sector for the last twenty-odd years, never have such underserving and inadequate individuals been catapulted into the limelight in my view.
I suspect that it always was the case that politicians and governments elsewhere – the US, EU, Ireland – could see Johnson’s failings all too clearly. As a result both he and the UK are to be kept at arms length and treated as infectious in every way – politically, economically and in health terms. The EU and Ireland along with the US can do without the UK. Any agreements it might make have to be treated as worthless until there is a complete change of government in the UK, and even then after a long period in ‘quarantine’ until the UK proves itself be trustworthy.
As for Johnson’s departure, who amongst the current crop of Tories would be seen as any more competent and trustworthy? Their hands are all steeped in the same blood. I would not be surprised to see the ‘men in suits’ turn up with the whisky and revolver, and try to attribute all of the UK’s failings to Johnson. However, they have all been out there, delivering the same messages, now and in the past. Im not sure any of them will fool any of the world’s serious politicians, even if they are enough to fool today’s Tory voters. Gove might be more polished but is even more slippery and disingenuous. They will continue to ramp up the divisive nationalism and xenophobia aided by their friends in the media, appealing to a narrowing but ever more hysterical UK, predominantly English base.
In rightly criticizing Johnson let’s not forget the other buffoon in the room: Lord David Frost. A man so promoted above his ability that he thinks it a jolly weave – or perhaps he seriously believes it an effective negotiating tactic – to wear Union Jack socks to a meeting at the G7 with EU leaders. Or perhaps this is an example of what ‘taking back control’ and ‘respecting the UK’s sovereignty’ actually mean, rather than the far more difficult and intellectually challenging task of respecting a legally binding treaty – which he was supposedly instrumental in negotiating – and finding ways to formulate actual, effective policy that delivers on that agreement while being honest about what that means for UK stakeholders. That said, I suspect that degree of hard work is as anathema to Frost as it is to Johnson. Ultimately, I’m tempted to cite that old adage about lions led by donkeys. But that would be doing a disservice to donkeys so I shan’t.
🙂
I also followed a transcript of what Macron actually said written by a European reporter. It simply spelt out the facts.
The problem is that all these statements by Johnson are for consumption by the ‘cult’. It is entirely aimed at the client press who will report it and blow trumpets. Also in this mix is the apathy of the population regarding politics, they only see the headlines as you walk past the newsstands.
As she artfully said on another blog – Catrinadavieswriter – [if you don’t do politics, remember politics still does you].
I think we know what is going on here and there a lot of people who are aware as well. What we need is action.
The EU is adopting an unnecessarily confrontational stance. It should have the maturity and nous to treat this UK government as the spoiled, self-harming brats they are. Less than 6 months has elapsed since the UK finally left the EU’s CU & SM. So far as I am aware the UK has made no regulatory changes governing the products that are causing contention. The principle should be “trust, but verify”. That doesn’t require instrusive checks and prohibitions until the UK makes material changes, which it will have to announce in advance, that deviate, prima facie, from the EU’s rules. Then the heavy guns can be wheeled out.
While the Tories are almost certain to remain in power, the one thing we can be sure of is that this current manifestation is temporary. Shape-shifting is a Tory forte.
Paul
Sorry, but you are so wrong
Border controls require cooperation and agreed standards
The UK is refusing cooperation and demands relaxation of standards
Everything about what you are saying misses the point
Richard
The EU Single Market rests on four pillars:
1. Common rules and regulations
2. The member states are responsible for checks and report the results to the EU Commission
3. The EU Commission supervises the member states
4. The ECJ enforces the rules
How can we, the EU know that the British government is still doing the same amount of checks? And what the results are? As Sir Ivan Rogers said in one of his speeches it would be a delusion to believe that frictionless access would be possible without the supervision and enforcement.
If Somalia were to adopt all EU rules and regulations according to your statement the EU should simply trust their exports? Because they have the same regulations?
To make it worse, the Johnson government has made it quite clear that they intend to diverge from EU standards. They’ve even said that it is a primary reason for leaving the EU, so they can diverge, and no-one believes that it means moving to higher standards. Combine that with repeated dishonesty and conflicting claims during and since the Brexit campaign, the EU has absolutely no reason to trust the UK to do ‘the right thing’.
Apart from which, a fundamental basis of the EU and holding 27 nations together is that everyone does agree to a common set of standards and sticks to them. It takes time and hard work to get them agreed but they are fundamental. It is a joke to think that one country, no longer a member of the EU, can just be allowed to more or less follow the rules, without checks, until they feel like not following them.
As the saying goes, “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure”.
Thatcher, Major, Blair (arguably cut off), Brown, Cameron, May.
Eventually Johnson may decide he has had enough and leave for a better paid job (or perhaps due to health concerns of one sort or another). Once he has “got Brexit done” and defeated the invisible enemy, will he really want to stick around for the hard business of “building back better”?
Or at some point the Conservative Party may decide he has become more of an electoral liability than an electoral asset.
Either way I expect he will be in place for the next general election at least.
I think he may go sooner
I suspect N Ireland will be his come-uppance. The DUP is now weakened by divisions following Poots’ appointment and, by now, clear-thinking Unionists must be questioning the DUP’s support for Brexit given the chaotic outcomes it has caused in the Province. My gut feeling is that there will be a gradual shift among Unionist business folk towards reunification as that would resolve many of their current trading problems. If events result in a border poll, I suspect the Tory Party will act against Johnson for his role in creating the chaos. Add in the possibility of public disturbances and violence and the Tories’ reaction will be swifter.