The Week UK 17.08.2019

6 NEWS Politics

THE WEEK 17 August 2019

Controversy of the week

Acrisis of confidence

Downing Street is usually “half-empty” in August, said Andrew

Grice in The Independent. Not this year. Parliament may be in

recess, but No. 10 is “buzzing with activity”. With planning

for asnap autumn election reportedly afoot, and “every desk

occupied”, political advisers have been told to cancel their

holiday plans. Boris Johnson has written to all civil servants

urging them to “urgently and rapidly” prepare for Britain

to leave the EU on 31 October, deal or no deal. But another

possibility looms even larger in MPs’ minds, said The Guardian.

When the Commons returns on3September, Labour is poised

to holdavote of no confidence in the Government. Johnson,

who is opposed by Remain-supporting MPs from across the

House, may very well be defeated. And the country could then

face the following “perverse” scenario: that Johnson loses the

vote (because the Commons opposes no deal), but advises the Queen to setageneral election date for

after 31 October–sothat the election falls whenano-deal Brexit is alreadya“legal fait accompli”.

This would beamajor “affront to democracy”–aconstitutional outrage–but one that Johnson and

his adviser Dominic Cummings seem to be seriously contemplating.

And why shouldn’t they, asked Andrew Roberts in The Daily Telegraph. Under the Fixed-term

Parliaments Act 2011, the PM may callageneral election on the date of his choosing after losing a

confidence vote, if an alternative government cannot be formed within 14 days. Morally, Johnson

would be right to take us out. “When the will of the people was expressed, on 23 June 2016, to leave

the EU, the Remainer Parliament lost its moral right to subvert it.” In this febrile atmosphere, all

sorts of “unconvincing plans” are frantically being drawn up to stop Johnson, said Daniel Finkelstein

in The Times–such as the highly dubious concept ofa“national unity government”. The idea is

that anew government, drawn from Remainer MPs of all parties, would unite behind an alternative

leader–Kenneth Clarke, perhaps, or even John Major. It’sa“grand plan”, with onlyafew loose

ends, like “who would be in it, whether it would haveamajority, what its policy would be”.

The Queen may soon find herself dragged into “the escalating Brexit crisis”, said Caroline Wheeler

and Roya Nikkhah in The Sunday Times. Last week, the shadow chancellor John McDonnell was

only half-joking when he said that if Johnson refused to quit, he would be forced to “send Jeremy

Corbyn to the palace inacab” to tell the 93-year-old monarch that Labour is “taking over”. Senior

courtiers are now deeply concerned. The Queen herself is said to be “really dismayed” at the

prospect of being embroiled in party politics. Much may change between now and October. The EU

may, against the odds, offeradeal. Labour may not callano-confidence vote. But the way things are

going, we seem to be heading for Britain’s “biggest constitutional crisis since the Civil War”.

Can the Queen be kept out of it?

Spirit of the age

Good week for:

Condiment lovers,with the news that Heinz is launching

aketchup-mayonnaise hybrid in the UK. In the US it is called

“Mayochup”, but here it will be called “Heinz Saucy Sauce”.

Lee Child,author of theJack Reacherthrillers, who was invited

to beajudge on next year’s Booker Prize. Child has sold more

than 100 million books, and he hasafollowing among the literati.

Sardinia,which has recovered ten tonnes of sand stolen by

tourists over the past decade. Authorities at Olbia Airport carry

out systematic checks on departing travellers’ luggage and return

any smuggled grains–white sand from the Emerald Coast is a

particularly popular memento–tothe island’s beaches.

Richard Braine,who was elected leader of UKIP. Braine,

who has referred to the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson as

a“political prisoner”, is UKIP’s sixth leader in three years.

Bad week for:

Visitors to the Louvre,who are now reportedly given less

thanaminute to admire theMona Lisa.Leonardo da Vinci’s

masterpiece receives an estimated 30,000 visitors per day.

The Brexit 50p piece,after anti-Brexit activists vowed to return

every coin–which is set to be issued to mark the UK’s departure

from the EU–that turns up in their change to the bank.

Cauliflowers,which are in short supply. Britain’s crop was

damaged by floods in June, and Europe’s by the heatwave in July.

Commuters,with the news that rail fares are due to rise again by

2.8% next January. Controversially, the increase is based on the

retail price index of inflation, not the lower consumer price index.

National Grid blackout

The Government has

launched an investigation

into the biggest power cut

to hit the grid inadecade

(see page 49).Last Friday,

nearlyamillion homes and

businesses were left without

power when both the Little

Barford gas-fired power

station in Bedfordshire and

Hornsea wind farm off the

Yorkshire coast failed within

minutes of each other,

shortly before 5pm. The

blackout caused severe

travel disruptions, with some

stranded on trains for up to

nine hours. National Grid

insisted that its systems

“worked well”, despite the

“incredibly rare event”, but

the Government ordered it to

report to Ofgem, the energy

watchdog, on why the

incident occurred.

UK economy shrinks

Britain’s GDP shrank in the

second quarter of this year

by 0.2%–the first contraction

of the economy since the end

of 2012. The drop in the three

months to June was worse

than the flat performance

predicted by economists, and

has been put down to Brexit

uncertainty andabackdrop

of weaker global growth;

stockpiling also slowed when

the Brexit date was delayed.

The pound has fallen more

than 4.5% against the dollar

since the start of July, on

fears that the PM is pushing

towardsano-deal Brexit.

Poll watch

64%of Britons aged 25 to 34

think having “strong leaders

who do not have to bother

with Parliament” would be

agood idea, compared with

52%of over-65s.26%of

25- to 34-year-olds think

democracy isabad way to

run the country, and35%

would support having the

army in charge.

Hanbury Strategy/

The Daily Telegraph

87%of people who watch

porn say it has affected their

sex lives inapositive way.

77%say it has been good

for their relationships.

News Insights/The Times

In ageneral election, the

Tories could lose 13 out

of 20 marginal seats in

constituencies where they

have small majorities and

where the Lib Dems came

second in the 2017 election.

YouGov/The Times

The growing number of

celebrities caught up in

scandals has inspired a

new industry in “disgrace

insurance”. SpottedRisk, a

startup, offers film studios

and other brands tailored

insurance in case they lose

business afteracelebrity

they have hired is hit by

scandal. The insurer combs

gossip columns and news

reports for warning signs,

and rates people according

to 224 risk factors.

Anti-Brexit slogans scrawled

in chalk around Wakefield in

Yorkshire have been

revealed to be the work of

a71-year-old grandmother.

Hazel Jones,aretired

teacher who has chalked up

hundreds of protest slogans

over the past three years,

was unmasked when she

was filmed byapasserby.

“It’s my grandchildren that

I’m doing it for,” Jones said.