Brexit 5: the Bojo special

The one where BoJo told us more than we ever wanted to know 

Boris Johnson tried to criticise as left wing those who raised concerns about a loud argument which took place in the property which he shares with his girlfriend. Multiple people called the police over the weekend because of the loud disagreement which apparently centred around a glass of wine spilt on the sofa. Following the altercation, of which there is an audio recording, Johnson leaked a photo of him with his girlfriend in the countryside, which he has been accused of staging, and which has since yielded a plethora of spoofs including an Ikea advert and a meeting of the world’s tyrants (it’s worth a look and can be found here).

The one where BoJo drew up the drawbridge

The blond one continued to try to pander to his Tory heart-land base this week with the familiar mantra of getting immigration under control. He says he plans to instruct the government’s arms-length Migration Advisory Committee to investigate the merits of the Australian points-based system here in the UK, which would determine people’s eligibility to come to the UK on their age, English language skills, experience and skills in sectors that have shortages in workers, and qualifications. This is all intended to “restore democratic accountability” to the people, and bringing immigration under control, even though the Boris-worshipping Telegraph has said this is a false promise, thereby yet again undermining the very democracy he claims he will restore.

The one where two plucky underdogs attempt to scupper no deal

Forget Boris Johnson getting into Number 10 through the back door, what Tories should really be concerned about is MPs trying to remove no-deal from the table via a slip of the wrist. After a failed attempt earlier this month to stop a no-deal Brexit, cross-party MPs are now gearing up for another attempt to take away Boris Johnson’s EU trump card. Conservative Dominic Grieve and Labour’s Margaret Beckett have put forward an amendment to what is usually routine government finance legislation due on Tuesday next week. If passed, the amendment would deny vital funding to various Whitehall departments in the event of a no-deal without Parliament’s approval. This would effectively make such a course of action untenable. The proposed amendment would stop departments being able to get their funding unless the House of Commons had either passed a Brexit deal, or explicitly consented to leaving without one. The Liberal Democrats have officially backed the amendment, whilst Labour have not revealed their support. However, this well-devised loophole is unlikely gain the support of enough MPs as potentially blocking funds for schools, pensions, benefits and housing in the event of no-deal would not make any MP particularly popular to their electorate.

The one where the EU goes blue in the face

EU leaders again voiced their frustration with the UK as the European Council summit finished on 21st June. Donald Tusk, the European Council President, has called the UK Government out for frittering away its six-month extension, which ends on 31st October.

The summit served as an opportunity for the EU leaders to discuss progress half way through the six-month period. However, according to some sources, EU leaders spent only ten minutes discussing Brexit because the lack of any developments meant that there was nothing to talk about.

European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, once again reiterated that there will be no renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement, with the onus being on the UK to find a solution at the national level and hell to pay if they don’t.

The one where the BBC censors Mr Johnson to spare nation’s blushes

Finally reports have emerged that, during the making of the BBC documentary ‘Inside of the Foreign Office’ which aired at the end of last year, the BBC decided to censor remarks made from – yes, him again – the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that the French should be considered ‘turds’ for their refusal to change their stance on Brexit. It is believed that a decision was made to quietly remove the comments because of their potential to affect our Anglo-French relations and, perhaps, to save our collective national embarrassment. Rumours abound that the leaked report has sprung from the Foreign Office, now overseen by one Mr Hunt. Whether the revelations will impact the outcome of the Tory membership vote it is hard to say, but they may be a taste of what we, as a nation, have in store.

The Whitehouse team are experts in the potential impact of Brexit, providing political consultancy and public affairs advice to a wide range of clients, not only in the United Kingdom, but also across the member states of the European Union. More information about our Brexit experience can be found here, or, if you have any questions, please contact our Chair, Chris Whitehouse, at chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.