Back ‘in harness’  – and after three days without internet (see below) I conclude that ‘nothing has changed’. Oh, there are some twitchings, but generally it’s been BAU (Business As Usual), with talking heads on telly, pro and con. Those talking heads are either the usual suspects or those from the third line of government or Party. They are now being made to defend the indefensible: Ms May’s WA and the Backstop (sounds like the title for a novel for teenies …). When Boris Johnson uses his DT column (paywalled) today to write about his ‘brush with a cheetah’ you know that Brexit arguments haven’t changed. It’s ‘All Silent on the Brexit Front’ …

The collective MSM, Remain, Leave – no matter, have noticed that the Brexit horse they and the politicians have been flogging is dead. The readers and listeners, a.k.a. The British Public, have had enough. We’ve kept telling them that we want a No Deal/WTO Brexit and that their twistings and turnings are disgusting us. We keep telling them to get on with it and that their well-spun phrases are missing the point. We don’t need the Boles/Coopers/Soubrys and the rest warbling about needing to get the ‘No Deal’ off the table – we’ve kept telling them that this No Deal is the table.

I will mention in passing that Tory MPs to be deselected are now talking about a “Purple Momentum” – i.e. it’s the bad former Kippers who joined the Tories last autumn who are the culprits, not them. As for Labour – I wonder what else needs to happen for the Remain MSM to stop painting Corbyn as the saviour. Later this morning, so the MSM rumour mill sez, there’ll be an announcement of Labour MPs leaving the Party. That’ll be interesting. There are though some Brexit ‘news’ I picked up …

It must be the best-kept secret in this country that the government is preparing for a No-Deal-Brexit, as are the EU and EU member states. Even tight-fisted Remainer Phil Hammond is reportedly preparing to inject cash into industries ‘affected by the No Deal Brexit’ (see here) and there are preparations in regard to tariffs for the No-Deal (see here, paywalled):

“Theresa May is braced for “howls of rage” as ministers finalise tariffs that would apply if there is no Brexit deal. Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, wants a move to zero tariffs in as many areas as possible, but other ministers are demanding protection for producers, including farmers, who would struggle to compete with cheaper imports from outside the EU.”

This shows the mindset of those Remain ministers: rather stay in the giant protection zone that is the EU than reduce costs-of-living for us, the people. Have this country fare better Out than In? Can’t have that! The EU wouldn’t like it …!

Ms May has been busy over the weekend. Firstly, she phoned EU member state leaders about her plans – not that we’ll know what she said, except it was ‘clear and concise’ … and probably ‘strong and stable’ as well – and then wrote a letter to all her MPs about it, including the list of whom all she phoned. You can read it here. I loved the ending: ‘history will judge us’, addressed to the new ‘baddies’, the ERG and Jacob Rees Mogg. Yes, insisting to honour both the referendum result and the 2017 party manifesto is an act of heinous rebellion, far worse than betraying Brexit.

Ms May will also undertake a whistle-stop tour of all EU member states, to ‘charm their leaders’ into supporting her (see here). That would be in preparation to get her unspeakable WA – should it pass – the necessary EU agreement. Not only has she apparently not learned from her predecessor’s ‘experience’, the timing is off: the HoC told her to renegotiate that ‘deal’ – and so far nothing has happened. Oh – she’ll get the Attorney General, Mr Cox of the booming but mellifluous voice, to get something done about the backstop. A ‘codicil’ …

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote another fine article about this in the DT Business section on Friday. It’s paywalled, so here is a lengthy quote:

“The leaks from Brussels have begun. Unnamed EU “diplomats and officials” have floated the subject of a temporary opt-out for Ireland in a no-deal Brexit. Dublin will not have to erect customs infrastructure or police the outer limits of the single market immediately. There will be a transition. Officials told Reuters that Ireland will ultimately face checks on its own exports to Europe or face being kicked out of the EU customs union if it refuses to put up a trade border against Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal. […] But ultimately may be a long way off. There will be a strange hiatus. The derogation period circulating en coulisse in Brussels is about six months. In my experience such time-frames tend to be elastic. So think this through. Later this year or at some point in 2020 the Irish government will come under pressure to erect a border, which both Dublin and the EU insist would be a violation of the Good Friday Agreement.” (my bold).

This, dear friends, shows in exemplary fashion the EU’s mantra, ‘punish Britain for daring to Brexit’, at work, and never mind the legalities. I wonder how many other illegal (in EU Law) bombs are hidden in the WA … and why it is that our Government and Whitehall, never mind the HoC, are so resistant to take on board arguments we, the stupid, uninformed Leave-voters understand fine well.

I’ll conclude with the unavoidable Sir John Redwood who writes in his Diary today:

“Being the UK’s Single Market Minister during an intense period of EU legislating when they said they were “completing”the single market turned me from a mild sceptic to a strong critic of the undemocratic approach of the EU. “

As always, go and read what Sir John Redwood has to say – it’s not long, and you can use his points in your emails to your MP.

The MSM may have decided that the fate of an ‘ISIS Bride’ is more relevant than Brexit, but you needn’t. Show your MPs that this is not a “Purple Momentum’, it’s an all-colour Brexiteer-Momentum.

 

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My absence these past three days was on doctor’s orders, and I thank you all for your good wishes, on here or in private emails. I hope I can stay the course over the next six weeks. 

 

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