
A Brexit trade deal that takes back control
Or so it really seems – which is a personal coup for Johnson. Churchill walked with destiny. Today, the Prime Minister, in his serio-comic way, is winking at it.
Or so it really seems – which is a personal coup for Johnson. Churchill walked with destiny. Today, the Prime Minister, in his serio-comic way, is winking at it.
Johnson is up to ninth from fifth from bottom, Gove jumps up to near the top quarter, Hancock is clearer from the relegation zone – and Truss stays top.
And the Government’s own standing moves into the black for the first time since our August poll.
And a measure of his achievement to date is the channelling of a new patriotic populism into an established political vehicle.
The 1922 Executive Committee Chairman has established himself on Covid almost as a kind of leader of the internal opposition.
Three in five said it was a win for the UK, with one in three reserving judgement – and under one in ten declaring it a win for the EU.
That’s two days for Commons, Lords and Royal Assent. Virtual participation is being encouraged. Seventy-five per cent of MPs have a proxy vote.
We hail the commitment of Frost and Oliver Lewis to their negotiating brief. Without them, this deal is unlikely to have reached its final form.
This is not the first time that the Prime Minister has been misread by opponents who deluded themselves into believing he was set on No Deal.
For the second time in a year, the Brexit Party leader has ridden in behind the Prime Minister – for whom this news is a big plus.
Johnson should be praised for getting a deal at all – once again. But as matters stand, MPs won’t be able properly to consider it.
Lord Fowler has identified the right problem in the wake of yesterday’s appointments but advanced the wrong solution.
Congratulations to him, and also to two other regular contributors – Syed Kamall, another former Tory MEP, and Dean Godson of Policy Exchange.
Vaccines, the new Covid strain and the absence of a proven alternative policy combine to leave Johnson with little choice but to follow the path he is taking.
Part-closed borders, an unresolved Brexit negotiation, a new strain of Covid – the interplay between these is perilous and Parliament should be recalled.