Who Will Bring The House Down?

The Sunday papers make depressing reading with commentators queueing up to gee-up or write-off the Prime Minister. Most lay the blame for the Conservative Party's difficulties at the door of the “hard right” Brexiteers now openly being described as “swivel-eyed” by those that disagree with their principled stance on Europe. Their crime is to believe that Brexit means Brexit and that that no deal is better than a bad deal. They are fully behind the Prime Minister in the policy set out in Florence. Yet, cheered on by the BBC, they are vilified for their recklessness by the Soubry band of so-called soft Brexiteers whose unconditional admiration for everything EU clouds their sense of realism and inflates an irrational optimism of a future in Europe in all perceived trade and social advantages other than a fair share of the decision-making process. Which begs the question, which faction represents the greater threat to the Prime minister’s authority? According to the commentators, it is the ever-patient Jacob Rees-Mogg and his allies who will bring down the government. I happen to think the opposite and that it is the ever self-important Soubry and her friends in the naughty corner whose wilful divergence from Florence will, eventually, force clear thinking Conservatives into open rebellion, the unintended consequences of which could be the collapse of the fragile house of cards. They should think very carefully before nailing their colours to the anti-Brexit parliamentary bandwagon and reflect upon what they asked the British people to decide, on their behalf, in the referendum. In particular, they should look at their own government policy:

• We are going to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 
•  We are leaving both the single market and the customs union

Then they should recognise that, regardless of any so-called transition or implementation phase, you cannot achieve bullet No 1 if you fudge No 2.