No plans for no deal
The leak of an official document predicting that a no-deal Brexit would lead to food, medicine and petrol
shortages seems (I doubt) to have taken the Brexit Tories by surprise and sent them (I don’t doubt) into a bit
of a tizz. They clearly have no idea how best to respond to this non-leak. Such outcomes have long been
documented yet we are now led to believe that the Brexit government has no plans for their much-
trumpeted no deal.
No 10 has blamed the leak on a “hostile former minister” intent on ruining Boris Johnson’s trip to see EU
leaders this week. That will be the meetings with EU leaders Boris Johnson said he would not hold. What on
earth was that “hostile former minister” thinking, wasting time in sabotaging something that would never
take place?
Michael Gove has frowned on camera in what he hoped was a statesman-like demeanour (it wasn’t) and told
us the contents of this document are “old”. What, then, is new? Precious little is my guess. He tried to
reassure us by saying “there will be bumps in the road” associated with a no deal without giving any
indication of the number of bumps, the height of the bumps, the speed limits or the length of the road. I’d
be happy with an honest best guess or, even, “we have no idea”. I’m sure his classicist boss and our PM has
read (in the original Greek) of the wisdom of not knowing.
Alongside these shenanigans, the chancellor has promised an overhaul of the Treasury’s approach to Brexit,
beginning with “significant extra funding” this week to get Britain “fully ready to leave” with or without a
deal. He, then, thinks “significant extra funding” is necessary.
We are indeed in very safe hands. Not.
Beryl Wall London W4
Political dream team
The political bar is so low at present that every creeping, crawling thing can get over it (as our present
government proves) so that even I – lefty granny – greet the idea of Ken Clarke and Harriet Harmon
leading a unity government as some sort of fantasy utopian dream team.
Maybe Ken Clark could call his unity government KC & the Sunshine Band?
Amanda Baker Edinburgh
Let’s have a Politics for the Many
Westminster is broken. The majority of parliament remains unelected through the House of Lords, and
millions are voiceless – excluded by a politics that feels remote from many communities.
This month has shown just how unreliable our political system is. Boris Johnson is threatening that even if
he loses a vote of no confidence, he’ll stay on as PM – or that he’ll call a general election for after the most
extreme version of Brexit has taken place. With talk of proroguing parliament, it’s clear our already-fragile
democratic rights are in the firing line.
With the far-right capitalising on the frustration and dislocation people feel, it’s vital that the Labour
movement has a plan for a radical overhaul of the democratic system. Our inaugural Politics for the Many
conference in Manchester on 31 August conference hopes to kick start a new reform debate for today.
Hundreds will gather to try and outline a positive way forward. It’s time for action: we have no time to
waste.