Britannia Waves the Rules

Friday’s musical euphoria gave way to despair as the meaning of the Letwin amendment sank in. Far from the advertised purpose of granting MPs more time for reflection, the amendment actually granted an enduring power to block and frustrate any Brexit enabling legislation in the secure knowledge that the threat of a WTO exit would be neutralised by a compliant EU granting the UK a sequence of rolling extensions. Despite having, hitherto, voted overwhelmingly for it, Parliament just voted itself the power to stop Brexit.  Letwin is either monumentally stupid, as only self-styled academics can sometime be, or a dangerous psychopath in thrall to those who seek to block the UK leaving the EU at any cost. I favour the latter explanation and we hear that his strings are being pulled by Gina Miller and her henchman Lord Pannick.  Thus, the remain attack could continue for the duration of Parliament, paralysing the Brexit process and during which time the increasingly militant Remainers will hope to sap the resistance of those and felt some obligation to do as they promised in the referendum prospectus. They will hope that collective fatigue will eventually replace, “let’s get Brexit done,” with “let’s forget about the whole thing.”

And so, with the exquisite irony of Brecht, honourable members sent an emphatic message to the electorate: you have forfeited our trust and we can no longer represent you. Parliament will now find a new electorate: we have been dismissed as misguided and troublesome. Pitifully, the same collection of honourable members did not divulge how or when their quest for a new constituency would be conducted.