If that was the response to David Davis's announcement, I expect the "operation area" was...
...declared a disaster zone after Boris Johnson's resignation! Before Remainer Tories heap even more scorn on BoJo's head, perhaps they should take a few moments to mull over this YouGov poll, which asked voters what they thought of the Foreign Secretary's decision (not, of course, that Remainers are the slightest bit interested in the opinion of voters):
I imagine the public's response to Theresa May's resignation would be even more positive! Whatever she decides to do, at least she can count on the support of the Daily Mail's Quentin Letts:
And, of course, that of arch-fan James Delingpole:
Obviously, UKIP will be right behind her:
And it's just been announced that she's also agreed to the appointment of Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović as match referee.
I wonder what the hold-up over the Brexit White Paper is?
Ah, that would explain it!
What I don't get is why EU leaders get right up the noses of so many Britons:
Oh, now I remember - it's because they're a bunch of clueless, arrogant, ill-mannered, unelected, anti-democratic, anti-British CAUCs!
In case anyone's still wondering quite how Mrs May managed to get herself into such a frightful mess, Jacob Rees-Mogg has an interesting theory:
Undeniable, really.
I wouldn't read too much into the poll on Boris Johnson. I would have answered in the affirmative, only because I think he should never have taken the job in the first place, was an embarrassment to his country and must rank among the worst British post-war foreign secretaries, which when you consider that the list includes George Brown, Selwyn Lloyd and Margaret Beckett, is quite an achievement.
ReplyDeletein addition, you don't have to be a foaming-at-the-mouth Europhile to regret that both Johnson and Davis have consistently downplayed the complexities involved in leaving the EU, often misleadingly so. Neither of them had the courage to take the line favoured in this blog - let's just leave the bloody thing and take the consequences - which I don't agree with but which is a respectable position given the referendum result. I also suspect that neither of them has a mind which can be bothered much with detail, which is essential in understanding the whole Brexit issue, as it is much less work to keep repeating with absolute certainty and in a loud voice things that are patently not accurate.
Johnson never makes any move without considering how it will benefit his career, which is why it took him so long to decide to jump ship. His decision to pose for pictures signing his resignation letter suggests a degree of stage management that is incompatible with the claim that it was a decision of principle. At least Davis went quickly ( after a large number of false starts over the past two years), although it is a shame that neither of them considered the public interest earlier and gave way to more competent people once it became clear that they were not up to the job.
It's interesting to note that the only person The Donald has said he actually wants to meet is Boris.
ReplyDeleteYou can hardly blame him. Let's be frank, an afternoon with BoJo would be infinitely more entertaining than a meeting with Dithering Theresa.
The only thing she has going for her now is the threat of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour's bogeyman in chief.
What a state...
What has astonished me about Mrs May is her failure to heed at least two key messages from the Brexit result: (1) voters don't respond well to endless pessimism, and (2) they've had enough of the elite ignoring their basic concerns. She needed to reassure the public that they were finally being listened to, and she needed to offer them an optimistic vision of post-Brexit Britain. Instead, she's pushed through a proposal which suggests Britain is terrified of going it alone, and is now expecting voters to back her because Corbyn would be even worse. Where's the verve, the vim, the gumption, the oomph, the sense of purpose, the belief in her own country and its people? If she didn't believe Britain could thrive after leaving the EU, or if she thought a genuine Brexit would prove impossible to deliver, she shouldn't have stood for the leadership in the first place.
DeleteI didn't expect much from her - but I expected better than this. I just pray the EU rejects her crappy proposals - we're sunk if they don't.
Selwyn Lloyd was a fag ( in the non - Yank sense) at Fettes for the great Scottish Rugby International, Herbert Waddell. Colonel Waddell used to fire off irate letters about income tax to the then Chancellor , most of which concluded with the encouraging message , viz., "Socialism is Death."
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