THE WILD WEEK IN WESTMINSTER (from the safe distance of 500 miles)
- Liam John
- Sep 5, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 28, 2019
it’s been an action-packed few weeks in politics, here’s my analysis from 500 miles away. Where it makes the least sense:
At the weekend The Queen gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson approval to prorogue (or suspend) Parliament to prevent MPs blocking No Deal, the very suggestion of which lost current Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab the Tory leadership election. A few weeks is a long time in politics.
The Queen wasn’t the only old-timey-aristocrat to be making headlines as Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the house and socially-Victorian politician, shocked many by slouching and appearing to show disdain for other members in the House of Commons.
Rees-Mogg relaxing on the Taxpayer’s time
MPs then backed a bill to block No-Deal Brexit, this was opposed by the government, who are silently preparing for one whilst bolstering a deal that doesn’t exist.
Boris Johnson didn’t look great at Prime Minister’s questions; Theresa May famously used the format to her advantage with regards to avoiding answering and it was infuriating. Now seeing babbling-Boris bumble his way through questions on everything from his comments about Muslim women to the lack of a deal, revealed this government for the farce that it’s now become.
Already beyond satire, and as if anyone needed a visualisation of the direction the Tory party is going in, while Boris addressed MPs in the House of Commons (now former) Tory MP Phillip Lee defected to the Liberal Democrats. Leaving the government without a majority.
The Chancellor Sajid Javid also announced the new spending review. Which, it quickly became clear, was an announcement that austerity is over. It included more spending for hospitals and schools and had the general feel of a celebration of the balanced-books.
Whether the books actually are balanced is one for the economists, dependent on whether you equate borrowing less each year to breaking-even.
The political message was clear: free money for everyone and Brexit come what may.
Her Majesties Government, unveiling the all-new “Magic Money Tree.”
Johnson took this battle-cry to Parliament, calling the bill to block No Deal the: “surrender bill.” He then announced that the house would vote on a general election for the 14th of October.
The next bizarre turn saw Labour vote against the general election, saying that they would support an election only if No-Deal was ruled out. This led Boris to refer to the fear of the standard of food we may receive from foreign countries after Brexit, by calling Jeremy Corbyn “the only chlorinated chicken here.”
Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair urged Labour to tread lightly around the issue of an election and Corbyn lashed back saying that while stopping No-Deal was the priority, Labour are ready for an election any time.
When Corbyn questioned Boris on his imaginary Brexit plan at Prime Minister’s Questions it became heated and it was clear that we were dealing with the 2017 election Corbyn, who starved the Tories of their majority, not the reclusive and frail figure he is often portrayed as due to his lack of presence in the media.
This situation has left Boris in a bit of a tight situation, he has alienated the centre of the party to the point of no-return by saying he will remove the whip and deselect any MPs that refuse to vote with the government. Since Phillip Lee walked from the Tories to the Lib Dem’s in the House of Commons there has been a shower of Tory MPs who have resigned or been deselected.
The Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson among them. This may lead to the Scottish Tories losing some of their 31 seats to the SNP.
The most recent resignation has been, again beyond satire, the Prime Minister’s own Jo Johnson. He will resign from being an MP and from the Conservative party, saying he: “is torn between family loyalty and the national interest.”
The Prime Minister with his little brother and former-Education Minister Jo Johnson
If you are floating-voter a Labour government, even if it’s run by someone somewhat revolutionary, is beginning to look like the safe option. The Tory party, who were once seen as the grown-ups in the room, have been falling upwards without a plan since the 2016 referendum.
I believe there still will be a general election in October and it would be in the Labour Party’s best interest for the shadow cabinet to get campaigning. Labour need to demonstrate the benefits of their economic plan; they are no longer against a fiscally conservative Tory Party.
Javid’s announcements make clear the government’s intentions to turn the spending tap on, Labour are in a strong position to outline why and how that is implausible.
If they can effectively do that, we might be looking at a very close October general election.
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