Thread by @MarkNorthfield

Brexit grief, part 49 - on not extending transition

(Just some late evening rambling thoughts. Nothing more. Nothing less.)

THREAD

Not asking for an extension to transition means today was a very, very bad day for the UK. But also no surprise: the Vote Leave crew have an 80 seat majority. Persuading them to extend was never, ever going to succeed.

Some of them may think brinkmanship with the EU will magically work this time.

They’re wrong.

Some of them may think no deal is, well, no big deal. That there will be no nasty surprises as known problems interlock. 'Project Fear.'

They’re wrong.

Some of them may think GATT Article 24 will preserve the status quo even after transition ends.

They’re wrong.

Some of them may think trade experts exaggerate wildly about how long it will take to get a comprehensive trade deal with the EU.

They’re wrong.

Some of them may think ignoring geography and the power of the single market is all fine, because ‘global Britain’, ’the Commonwealth’ and ‘punching above our weight’.

They’re wrong.

Some of them may think the UK becoming like - and having to follow regulations set by - the US is a good thing and will be meekly accepted by UK voters.

They’re wrong.

Some of them may understand the damage and unsustainability of a no deal scenario but believe they can successfully pin the blame on the EU, the Civil Service or other ’saboteurs’ within.

We must prove them wrong.

Some of them may think that no deal chaos on top of a pandemic recession is a fine way to enrich themselves, avoid pesky regulations, dramatically reshape the state, diminish the public realm and suck wealth from it…

And that all this talk of #BuildBuildBuild is just necessary PR BS. In other words, if they ever did read The Shock Doctrine by @NaomiAKlein then they saw it as a template rather than a warning.

If this is their measure of ‘success', then they have a chance to achieve 'it'. But how low we will have fallen to let them.

We must keep documenting their actions. Keep tallying the broken promises. The subversion of democracy. The lies and corruption.

Remain is no longer an option - we have left. Rejoin, or at the very least rejoining the single market, is some way down the line. The lessons of a hard Brexit will only be learned the hard way. I wish it were not so.

History will judge the Vote Leave shysters very harshly, but only if we all help to write it. And we have to let misled soft-Brexit voters of 2016 write it with us. Together, as a majority who vote for different parties but collectively see this deep betrayal of the common good.

It means voting reform for PR to prevent a dangerous minority inflicting such great harm on the majority again, and also to encourage political cooperation and compromise. FPTP is not fit for purpose in a mature democracy. Labour need to step up. I hope they get the urgency now.

The 'Conservative and Unionist Party' is now neither of those things. They have become revolutionary populists. What’s more, those who have taken them over imagine their Brexit ‘victory’ will be permanent; their very own ‘end of history’.

Yet again, they’re wrong.