Another day in British politics, another government resignation
This time it was Baroness Sugg resigning over Sunak committing to cutting the UK's overseas aid spending - see Gavin's thread for the data
But a thread from me about the ⛈ on the horizon - #Brexit
This time it was Baroness Sugg resigning over Sunak committing to cutting the UK's overseas aid spending - see Gavin's thread for the data
But a thread from me about the ⛈ on the horizon - #Brexit
https://twitter.com/GavinFreeguard/status/1331619489910231042
Sugg resigned because of a policy disagreement, as her resignation letter outlines, but the outright and blunt way the announcement was made by Sunak fits a pattern - this is not a decision that has been debated, discussed, mulled over.
https://twitter.com/liz_sugg/status/1331619532687945730
A whole slew of Tories have lined up to criticise the cut
And even David Cameron put his head out of the shed door for a while to raise his concerns
https://twitter.com/KValtersson/status/1331620585277976576
And even David Cameron put his head out of the shed door for a while to raise his concerns
https://twitter.com/David_Cameron/status/1331644466445361156
This echoes what has happened with regard to COVID lockdowns - where rebellion has been mounting on the Tory backbenches - enough to make the Tories worried about their majority
bbc.com/news/uk-politi…
bbc.com/news/uk-politi…
And one of the oft-cited problems with the attitude of Cummings to the Tory Parliamentary Party was that he did not take it seriously (and had disgust for many MPs).
Cummings has gone, the problem remains.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Cummings has gone, the problem remains.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
So to the ⛈ - Brexit.
At the time of writing we still do not know if there will be a Deal or not.
But *whatever* there is it's going to be rocky.
But *whatever* there is it's going to be rocky.
There has been no preparing of the ground for a Deal. No explaining of why trade offs are necessary. No softening of the rhetoric on fisheries or level playing or impact on Northern Ireland or anything else...
There has been a little more preparing the ground for No Deal - Gove today saying that any problems will be due to EU intransigence for example - but the Prime Minister has been essentially silent on Brexit for weeks.
When this goes 💥 one way or another - next week probably - it's going to be a sight.
Having not done the work to prepare one or other side for a letdown - not least because the PM seems to not have decided himself - the danger of it all getting politically very nasty are high.
Having not done the work to prepare one or other side for a letdown - not least because the PM seems to not have decided himself - the danger of it all getting politically very nasty are high.
Perhaps all of these tensions in the Tory Party are irreconcilable.
Perhaps modern UK politics has to just be like that, where the cycle of resign, rebuild reputation, and return is faster than before.
Perhaps after 1 Jan it'll calm down, although I doubt it.
Perhaps modern UK politics has to just be like that, where the cycle of resign, rebuild reputation, and return is faster than before.
Perhaps after 1 Jan it'll calm down, although I doubt it.
But nothing I have seen today gives me any reassurance about what's around the corner.
Indeed it might even underline my theory that simply not deciding anything might be Johnson's tactic...
jonworth.eu/brexit-negotia…
Indeed it might even underline my theory that simply not deciding anything might be Johnson's tactic...
jonworth.eu/brexit-negotia…
Hold on tight, folks. This is not going to be pretty.
/ends
/ends
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