The Conservative party is, shock horror, engulfed in infighting over Europe. But, unlike in the past, the famously ruthless Tory backbenches have not managed to take out their target. Theresa May remains in office, but barely in power. Add into the equation that the DUP has effectively gone on strike, and this government looks more precarious than it ever has before.
When similar circumstance occurred in 1997 the alternative to the Conservatives was Tony Blair. Whatever you think of him now, Blair hardly seemed like a serious threat to the country’s wellbeing. The same cannot be said of current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The Corbyn Threat
At the risk of being overly dramatic, the prospect of a Corbyn-led government terrifies me. He has not demonstrated that he has any economic literacy. Nor has he shown himself capable of statesmanship – his reaction to the Salisbury Novichok attack was a disgrace. Furthermore, he has allowed antisemitism to rear its ugly head once again in the UK. Added to all this, Corbyn appears to believe in Brexit more than May.
Corbyn appeared at the Armistice Day memorial this year dressed completely inappropriately for such an occasion. That might seem small, and on the scale of things it is, but it demonstrated perfectly how unfit for
Conservative MPs and members surely know this. That may well be why the magical 48 letters have not year landed on Sir Graham Brady’s desk. However, their behaviour means Corbyn is closer to Downing Street than he has ever been before.
DUP Hypocrisy
I can understand why the DUP has raised major concerns with the proposed EU withdrawal agreement. This is a party of the union and it sees May’s proposal as threatening Northern Ireland’s place in that.
However, I would have more sympathy for their concerns over the Irish border had they not been such strong supporters of Brexit. A land border with the organisation they wanted to leave was always going to be an issue, particularly when that border comes with such emotional baggage.
As for the DUP’s concerns about regulatory differentiation – well, they did not see to mind Northern Ireland having completely different rules to other parts of the UK when the equal marriage law was passed.
If MPs are unhappy about current proposals, they must work with the Government constructively to improve them. However, for me, and I suspect many others, it would be totally unacceptable, unforgivable
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My first book "Not Buying It", looking at post-truth in media and politics, is being published by Unbound
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