BORIS IS BACK!

On 3 September 1939 an excited signal was sent to the British Fleet by the Admiralty – “Winston is Back!” expressing its delight that a vigorous leader had returned to office. On 23 July 2019 a majority of our great country was animated by the news that dismal Theresa May was gone and that at last a buccaneer, a Brexiteer and a believer in the strength of our nation was at its helm. Glory, glory, hallelujah, Boris is Back!

Boris triumphs

 24 July was even better. The government was radically reconstructed. The dismal Jimmies were axed wholesale, the doubters discarded, the incompetents weeded out and a bright group of determined politicians now hold the great seals of office. Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab, Priti Patel and Michael Gove are a great improvement on David Lidington, Jeremy Hunt, Philip Hammond, David Gauke and all the others consigned to outer darkness. Did we dream that Lidington (who?) was actually deputy prime minister? Did we really endure a gloomily defeatist Chancellor like Hammond for 3 long years? Did Theresa May, with as much charisma as a cold rice pudding, really kiss hands and dare to represent our dynamic nation in the highest councils of the world? Whatever, that nightmare is over and a new chapter begins.

Compared to May’s glacial gang, Boris is a warm summer’s day. We have hope, we have vision and we have optimism. Boris is on the front foot and we can expect a cascade of government spending promises and subsidies in preparation for a no-deal Brexit and for the general election he will surely call before too long. I foresee a re-run of Lloyd George’s “Coupon Election” of 1919 when explicitly pro-government candidates received written endorsement and the gloomsters and fence-sitters received no recognition. Lloyd George won by a landslide, just as Boris will.

Certainly, the Parliamentary arithmetic looks very unfavourable at present. Maybe 30 Tories are disaffected and threaten to bring Boris down. But if the alternative is a Corbyn ministry of deep red hue, minds can easily change. A handful of Labour MPs may back a no-deal Brexit and LibDems are notoriously fickle. Scotland is probably solidly anti-Boris but all politicians like to be on the winning side and I doubt if a Dominic Grieve, an Ursula von der Leyen or a Diane Abbott set many voters’ hearts a-pounding!

Europe, with self-harming intransigence, is unwilling to have a dialogue with Boris’ government on any change to May’s useless Withdrawal Agreement. The Irish love their backstop – but will they sacrifice their economy for it? A no-deal Brexit will divert all our efforts to trade deals with the USA and the Commonwealth, which will do damage to the EU in the longer term. Personally, I would welcome such a change in focus.

Between now and Halloween, we will see highly exciting times – expect the unexpected, steel ourselves for alarms and excursions, for good and for bad news. Boris will do everything to raise our morale and our national determination.

Be of good cheer -we shall prevail!

SMD

28.07.19

Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2019