30 Britain The EconomistSeptember 7th 2019
S
o many extraordinaryevents are happening in British poli-
tics that it is impossible to tell the normal from the abnormal.
This is not only disorientating—all the talk of “coups” and “trai-
tors” can unsettle even the most philosophical of souls. It is also
dangerous. A quick glance at history shows that terrible things can
happen when you normalise the abnormal. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the
leader of the House of Commons, maintains that the British con-
stitution can “bend to a passing storm”. But if the storm is a hurri-
cane that rages on for years, it can also break.
Boris Johnson was elected over his more moderate rival, Jeremy
Hunt, with 93,000 votes out of a turnout of just 150,000—all that
remains of a Conservative Party that was once 3m strong. More
than half are over 55 years old, 70% are men, 97% are white and, as
a group, they have far more authoritarian and Eurosceptic views
than the population at large. Yet this mockery of a mandate has not
prevented Mr Johnson from pursuing an unbendingly extreme
policy. He has filled his cabinet with people willing to sign up to a
no-deal Brexit, a minority position in the parliamentary party. He
has suspended Parliament in order to reduce the amount of time
available to debate the rights and wrongs of such a Brexit, a deci-
sion that many regard as a constitutional outrage. His justification
for this is that the “will of the people”, as embodied in the referen-
dum result of 2016, must be honoured. But there is no evidence
that the 52% who voted for Brexit support the no-deal variety. One
recent poll shows that Britons don’t trust Mr Johnson to make the
right decision on Brexit by a margin of 55% to 34%.
Mr Johnson made his second-ever appearance as prime minis-
ter in the House of Commons on September 3rd, only to suffer one
of the worst humiliations of any leader. Twenty-one Tories voted
with the opposition to outlaw leaving the euwithout a deal. Mr
Johnson’s response was to purge the rebels from his party. They in-
cluded two former chancellors (one of whom was in office just sev-
en weeks ago), five other former cabinet ministers and Winston
Churchill’s grandson, Sir Nicholas Soames. At the same time a for-
mer Tory prime minister, Sir John Major, is party to a lawsuit ac-
cusing Mr Johnson of acting unconstitutionally.
With the reality-based wing of his party decimated, Mr Johnson
is a prisoner of a narrow clique that combines ideological fervourwith personal eccentricity. Steve Baker talks about bulldozing the
House of Commons into the Thames. John Redwood is so lacking
in the milk of human kindness that he makes Mr Gradgrind look
like a lactating mother. This week Mr Rees-Mogg chose to listen to
an era-defining debate while lying prone across the Commons
benches, as if on a chaise longue, providing the Labour Party with
an ideal election poster.
Even more remarkable than the mainstreaming of extremists is
the normalisation of a no-deal Brexit. During the referendum cam-
paign, no Leaver mentioned the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, just
as few brought up the issue of the Irish border. Brexiteers assured
the country that negotiating a trade deal with the European Union
would be the easiest thing in the world. Now, Mr Johnson believes
that you have to support the possibility of no-deal to remain a Tory,
and Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party, regards no-deal as
the only acceptable option.
In normal times, voters can shift to the opposition if one side
goes berserk. But the Labour Party has a good claim to have arrived
ahead of the Conservative Party in crazy town, by electing Jeremy
Corbyn leader. Mr Corbyn has devoted his life to supporting ob-
scure and often repellent causes. His guests in the House of Com-
mons have included irasympathisers and Holocaust deniers. His
inner circle of advisers includes a former communist, Andrew
Murray, who has lauded North Korea and praised Stalin. For all the
talk of his being an ineffectual party leader, Mr Corbyn has done a
very good job of taking over the party’s executive committee and
putting in place automatic “trigger ballots” which will allow activ-
ists to eject mps who don’t toe the Corbyn line.
British politics is now trapped in a weird impasse as these two
extremists face each other across the aisle, bellowing and finger-
jabbing. Mr Johnson, who claims that he doesn’t want an election,
is now demanding one and Mr Corbyn, who claims that he does
want an election, is refusing to give him one. But it is hard to sum-
mon up a laugh as events whirl out of control. Extremism is as ad-
dictive as roulette. The Conservative Party may fight the next elec-
tion as a full-blown no-deal-Brexit party, forging a loose alliance
with Mr Farage, and adding fury at political correctness and social
breakdown to a powerful populist mix.
Extremism in one party also legitimises extremism in another.
If Mr Corbyn wins the next election—which is more likely than
most Tories realise—he will be emboldened by the Conservatives’
recent behaviour. A Tory opposition will find it hard to accuse Mr
Corbyn of sacrificing the economy on the altar of ideology when it
has done exactly that. By arguing that the “will of the people” mat-
ters more than the rights of minorities or the conventions of the
constitution, the Tories have supplied Mr Corbyn with the weap-
ons he needs to push through a radical hard-left programme. All he
needs is a majority, which they are doing their best to provide.Neverending story
There are some inspiring examples of countries righting them-
selves after periods of abnormality. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s fiery
populist, has been weakened by his increasingly outrageous be-
haviour. But with both parties controlled by fanatical factions and
Britain’s uncodified constitution depending on informal rules
that extremists do not respect, it is difficult to see a way out of the
mess. The great test for Britain is not just whether it can leave Eu-
rope with its economy intact. It is whether it can leave without do-
ing lasting damage to institutions that were always more delicate
than either Leavers or Remainers imagined. 7Bagehot Into the upside down
A country that prides itself on its common sense and moderation is doing ever stranger things