Brexit: Johnson & Truss
The inevitable downfall of Liz Truss & the Conservatives
The Saga continues…
Back all those years ago, when Britain decided to vote for Brexit, the Brexiters could not have been more delighted. They got their precious Brexit, which for those that know me, I was never for. The same reason I was pro the Union for the United Kingdom to stay with our Scottish friends, is the same reason I thought we were better in Europe. Better together, weaker apart.
However, Brexit happened. Democracy had spoken. And unfortunately, it is now not speaking anymore, it is screaming “it is not working”.
Liz Truss will just be the latest one to go (it will be hours and days, not weeks [EDIT: Okay, it was literally one hour until she resigned]). Johnson, May, Cameron - all have been purged by Brexit.
So, what happened?
The problem happened because it’s the campaign’s very design, and why Brexit was the root cause of these issues, but it is not got anything to do with the European Union. It’s the problem with winning using populist politics, and politics that is completely led by data analytics, and not a clear strategy.
What do you mean?
Brexit won the vote by promising multiple versions of Brexit. All of them are incompatible with each other. The so-called ‘Singapore-upon Thames’ approach on one side, being mass market deregulation across the financial, employment, and other sectors, whilst moving to a low tax, low government approach, and on the other a more left Brexit, which was in some ways championed by Johnson (big infrastructure projects, a stronger military presence, a “Global Britain” initiative). Both of these projects, which are wildly opposing each other, are causing this meltdown. Despite Johnson being a moral vacuum, there is one thing to be said about his leadership style. He was a good ringmaster to keep these ideologically opposed wings of the party together. The problem was when he left, the circus has now no one in charge. The lions are fighting with the clowns.
Brexit Benefits
Like it or not, it has been six years now since Brexit. Jacob Rees Mogg, our Brexit Opportunities Minister, appears to be slightly thin on the ground as he is reporting on our Brexit benefits. We’ve lost frictionless trade, and freedom of movement, but when he was pushed to give us a benefit he stated that ‘we have gained the ability to change the emergency exit signs in the Dartford Tunnel’ [1].
Like it or not, this will be squeaky bum time for the Government. The benefits promised with the sunlit uplands are… not materialising. The pound has been battered. Inflation is skyrocketing. The war in Ukraine continues. You can’t keep promising Jam tomorrow when tomorrow has turned into today.
The Third Way
If growth is Liz Truss’s mantra and wants to increase the country by 5% in growth, the fix is simple but hurtful. Join the European Economic Area.
Like it or not, I don’t think we can rejoin the EU, even though I wish we could. However we can’t be isolated outside of our European friends with these false Brexit promises anymore that have not materialised. To quote Rory Stewart:
I hate the word “appeasement” which is thrown around by both sides in this debate. We live in a society where good people can reasonably disagree - and where compromise is an essential democratic virtue - reflecting our pluralism. We should have compromised on Brexit. https://t.co/ethfwiKCTF
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) December 5, 2020
I think within the coming months, we will be forced to decide on our place within Europe. It will be humbling for the UK, but it will be a necessary move to make.
[1] EU gave us ‘very funny numbers’: Rees-Mogg on new post-Brexit laws - LBC