The Brexit Chronicles

...Or Forever Hold Your Peace.

Published on September the 2nd, 2019. 14.25.

So here we go again; it's yet another over-hyped media frenzied 'Hell Week' for Boris Johnson's government which could see him finally nail the coffin lid down on any resistance to his Halloween Brexit at any cost plan - or plunge the nation into even greater uncertainty if a successful Vote of No Confidence prompts a General Election.

I wrote the previous paragraph this morning, but since then there has been a quickening of events. A cabinet meeting - the reports aren't clear whether it is an 'emergency' cabinet meeting - has supposedly been called for 17.00 this afternoon, and there is febrile speculation that Johnson may have the confidence or lack of it to gamble everything on calling a snap general election.

We shall soon know the truth of the matter. Personally I doubt whether BoJo would want an election to be held in October - most likely the 14th - for fear of emulating Theresa May's disastrous 2017 miscalculation. And were he to be forced into going to the polls now, it would be considered a victory by the Remainers as they and their backers would be given free reign to go all out with Project Fear. Already the latest doom-laden story is that house prices would be expected to fall by 20% in the event of a No Deal Brexit, and with the official government Get Ready For Brexit campaign just getting underway, that would inculcate gnawing currents of unease similar to those which must have been felt at this time eighty years ago as World War Two was breaking out.

Hopefully this will be a false alarm, for if Boris does go to the country I think, as with Mrs May, he won't get the result he was expecting. It would be ironic if he were to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but that's the sort of 'winning' our Trump-lite is only too capable of!

18.30 update.

Following the Cabinet meeting which appears to have been more of a Council of War, Johnson has made a statement in front of 10 Downing Street and said he hopes not to have to fight an election if possible.

With steely-eyed determination BoJo is betting all of his chips on red, and daring his critics to put up or shut up. Holding his pistol, he has a round racked in the chamber and the hammer cocked; he wants the world to know he's not afraid to pull the trigger - even if the barrel is pointing at his own foot.