Back from holiday to find Johnson running rampant. A joy! He has the initiative and is making the most of it. This Tory revolutionary, fuelled by Dominic Cummings, is sprinting to the Brexit finish line knowing that departure on 31st October is what predominantly defines him. But he has been active in other areas too: more police on the beat; more money for NHS building works; more jails; more stop and search; more populism generally.
This signals an imminent General Election. Johnson can’t govern without leaving the EU, and he can’t allow Parliament and the best endeavours of the former Tory Chancellor to stop him. He also can’t govern with a majority of one and he can’t govern without his own mandate. He is openly goading the EU, the Opposition and journalists to dare him to call an election. They are falling into his trap nicely. He sees a window of opportunity now to see off the Brexit Party and to see off Labour, led by Corbyn, all before the disaster of a no-deal Brexit bites. On current showing he may well win and the Tory Party as we know it, along with the fortunes of the country, will be destroyed in the process. Hey ho. Who cares as long as Johnson and his vanity project continues.
But…but…there are two ways to block this British version of Trump:
Dump Corbyn
Labour are disastrously led. Their finest MPs languish on the backbenches, refusing to serve under him. The Party equivocates over Brexit, is mired in anti-Semitism allegations, and can’t even align its stance on a second Scottish independence referendum with the leader of the Scottish Labour Party. 45,000 members have departed in the past year. Corbyn is extreme, tired and useless. Johnson is running rings round him. But imagine if he departs to be replaced by Keir Starmer, say. All the above would be reversed. The Tories would panic as Labour fortunes are revived and all bets would be off on a snap Tory General Election victory.
The Liberal Democrats can’t just be about Brexit
The Lib Dem focus on Remain has been admirable and has helped restore their fortunes. But it is not enough. Even Johnson realises he can’t rely simply on the Brexit debate to propel him to election victory. The Lib Dems need coherent economic policies that are business and voter friendly and they need them fast. They need clearly articulated stances on the NHS, social care, law and order. They need a centrist philosophy that preserves the best of the former Tory/Lib Dem alliance; which stops them being portrayed as allies of the Left and the loony tunes, for example, coming out of the Green Party.
Of course the above is unlikely to happen. Labour has a long history of sticking with losing leaders and Corbyn has entrenched his uniquely awful, second rate Marxism, in the Party hierarchy (ex his MPs). The Lib Dems probably don’t have the time to flesh out new policies under a new leader in the face of a snap election or, if they do, may not have the appetite to fill the centre ground satisfactorily.
I hope I am proven wrong but today, with a very, very heavy heart, it seems Johnson may prevail.
Inside Right Politics 