“His core”. “Trump’s base”. They win because they show up. We lose because we don’t!
28
Boris Johnson is just your typical narrowminded xenophobic englishman of which they make up the majority. They don't really deserve to be a part of one of the world's biggest and most successful trading blocs- the Eu.
23
"Little England"
Enjoy the wrath of a vengeful Krishna for the 300 years of misdeeds in Asia.
Maybe one day a rich Indian Tycoon will buy your country and rename the "Indian East London Company"
28
I really want to care about Britain but at some level, the schadenfreude I feel watching a once powerful colonial force be destroyed from within is truly satisfying. #irishgoodbye
15
Boris Johnson's entire pubic life is a publicity stunt! So yes, the hospital visit was also a publicity stunt.
16
Poor Britain!
11
Just to add a small measure of facts to your story....
The dad in the hospital is a proven Labour activist.
People support Brexit and they support the PM in his fight against elitist, "you-didn't-know-what-you-were-voting-for" establishment types. They support boris as they're tired to death of the 21 motor mouth tory mps who have had the whip removed. Who wants to ever hear from Dominic Grieve again. Theyre tired of the poisenous John Bercow telling us what we should thing.
Hurrah for poroguing parliament! When the squatters there won'nt act on the peoples instructions and they won't go to the people for elections, they should by rights, be turfed out.
Keep the flag flying for an independent UK!
10
It should be obvious to anyone with a brain who has witnessed these transatlantic disasters that, in Johnson, Putin has another "appointee" under his thumb. Putin is trying to destroy western alliances by exploiting forty years of "conservative" wealth transfer from the working class to the wealthy, and inserting tribal fears of the "Other" in the process, here in America fomented by 30 years of Fox propaganda and AM hate radio.
Anyone who has spent time listening to the irrational rantings of a Trump Cult member can see that Putin's strategy is working... A large minority of older white people (who long for the good old days) are completely convinced that minorities, and educators, and scientists, and the main stream media are the source of all their woes.
Trump and Johnson (and Fox) speak their language of resentment, and have taken control of their souls. These simple folks are incapable of identifying the real enemy (the mega wealthy pulling the strings behind the curtain), let alone fathom the consequences.
We outnumber them. But we must get out and vote in 2020, Folks. It may be our last chance.
33
Cool. Let the Brits and Boris destroy what remains of a once great Empire. What goes up must come down. Boris and his gang of misfits will reduce England to a third world country and every outside of the UK loves that ill fate for the Brits. America will soon follow if trump and McConnell get re-elected in 2020.
16
I presently live in London and seeing the antics of BoJo is a rerun of living with 45 for the first half and ½ of this interminable administration. I have hopes that the Brits will be as sensible as the Canadians in regarding Prmie Minister Trudeau's photo op as Aladdin who was actually a champion for the common man.
5
One of the biggest problems here is the absolute lack of any distinct position for the Labour Party. The Conservatives have seemingly positioned themselves as the hardline, do or die Brexiteer party, which immediately makes them the party of choice for those who see Brexit as the main issue, should an election occur. It essentially writes out Farage and the Brexit Party. The Liberal Democrats have positioned themselves as the clear anti-Brexit Party, and all the while Labour have been ducking and avoiding setting out a clear stance.
The Lib Dems will probably make up for most of the seats they lost after their brief fling with the Tories under Cameron's premiership. The Labour heartlands up here in the north are just too set in stone to ever swing away to any other party, but if they don't act and get themselves into a clear position with strong leadership, they'll lose any chance at grabbing swing seats for years to come.
I was a supporter of Corbyn at first, as a breath of fresh air from a standard politician, and a progressive vision. His lack of leadership on this issue has disappointed me. I voted remain, but I'd rather Labour positioned themselves as pro-Brexit than nothing at all. Unless something drastic changes soon, though, I can't see anything other than Tory governments for a generation.
17
Is it possible that there is an international conspiracy among smart people to elect incompetent leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom so as to destroy both? All that is needed is a minority of voters comprised of angry people, morons, Facebook, Russian computer hackers, and bots.
22
You know, it's possible democracy wasn't such a great idea after all. The UK may find that preserving its monarchy was a good idea. Unfortunately, our country has no such plan B unless the Windsors are willing to take us back. Perhaps Meghan Markle can put in a word.
10
An ostrich matches BoJo in looks, as well as the eagerness to hide his head in the sand. His supporters have forgotten that like lemmings there is only two seconds of bliss before an awful thud.
16
"Parliament has passed a law requiring him to request another delay if he cannot get a new Brexit agreement — and a deal with Brussels still remains a long shot." Are not the chances of a new agreement essentially zero? The EU is not going to abandon member-state Ireland and negotiate away the back stop. Therefore, any "new" deal would have to look very much like the one Mrs. May negotiated which was rejected three times. The UK simply does not have the leverage to stare down an EU that knows it would be hurt by a no-deal far less than Britain will be.
There is not going to be any new deal and no election is going to return a Commons majority that would accept a no deal Brexit. The only alternative would then be withdrawal of Article 50. If Mr. Corbyn would take the bull by the horns and declare Labour for Remain, no amount of playing to his supporters would save Mr. Johnson. Notwithstanding the current polls, simple unavoidable reality, plus some spine by Corbyn, could well make the new election Johnson has been angling for an effective stand-in for the second referendum the Remainers have wanted, and also return Labour to power.
Showing some spine and taking a stand instead of desperately pandering to the center-right would also serve the Democrats in this country well as they seek to unseat Trump next year. Unfortunately, intestinal fortitude among those seeking to preserve liberal democracy seems to be in short supply in both countries these days.
23
Quick poll:
Who is the worst Prime Minister in the history of the UK?
1) David Cameron
2) Theresa May
3) Boris Johnson
4
@Tom Wilson
Cameron has to win this poll since, for no other reason than to seek what he thought would be an electoral advantage for his party, he plunged Britain into this Brexit quagmire, and then turned tail and resigned when Leave shockingly won. We'd have never had a chance to witness the incompetance of May and Johnson had it not been for Cameron.
25
@Boris Jones
But Cameron is really sorry. In at least one interpretation of "sorry".
More seriously, my candidate for the worst prime minister in at least modern British history (from the 19th century) has to be the Conservative Party as a whole, which chose to beggar the people with austerity in order to lower business taxation (but not High Street store taxes) and eliminate the budget deficit -- simultaneously. Then the people, suffering from big cuts in government services and a declining standard of living, were persuaded by the tabloids (all right-wing propaganda outlets) and people like Boris Johnson that the EU was the villain. Hence the Brexit vote.
15
If British voters are OK with Johnson, they're in the same boat as red state voters in America. Sinking fast.
40
Nevermind the will of the voters, Parliament has decided to stop any Brexit.
3
@M
In fact, Parliament is in fact minding the will of the voters, in real time. Now that the outright lies and pie-in-the-sky promises of the Leavers has been revealed, Brexit would never win a second referendum.
11
@M
You don't know what the will of the voters is now, only what it was 3 years ago.
5
@M surely you meant to say 'slightly more than half of a very low turnout of voters who were shamelessly lied to and manipulated' ?
9
I wonder if Churchill was around, he'd only be about 145, what volume 5 of the History of the English Speaking People would be like. Although he was considered something of a "thruster" himself, I do not think he would like or respect Boris or Donald. But he would have figured out a way how to work them. Wish we had some folks around like that now.
5
They should hold a new vote. Part A is yes or no on Brexit. Part B is yes or no on Johnson. Let the voters decide and be done with it.
8
@northeastsoccermum You must be well-off enough to live with the tragic and decade long debacle of the resulting no-deal Brexit.
Many other are not.
Do you care?
2
If Johnson gains more seats in parliament based on his abysmal record so far, no deal, and no substantive plans to make a deal, I guess the British people will deserve what happens next.
(1) The economic outcome will clearly be far worse than they envision and (2) Scotland and perhaps Northern Ireland will leave the UK.
I understand the frustration with the government ministers and the stalemate so far, but poking someone’s eye out in revenge is no solution.
Ten years hence it will be finally clear what this madness cost them and there will be no way back. The Brexiters remaining will be even more angry, I suspect.
And to be fair, Labour needs a much better leader than Corbyn to galvanize support and outline a way forward.
14
If the UK leaves the EU and then petitions for re-entry, they probably would be readmitted if and only if they adopt the Euro.
I would urge the sane people of the UK to think long and hard about that. Maybe Article 50 should be withdrawn.
3
This cheery picked analysis contains so many flaws its hard to no where to start. The are sites you can reach that will give you a well rounded vision of what the polls are showing in the UK and I assure the picture here is deceptive. Moreover, there is no mention of the polling data regarding the suspension of parliament, which is profoundly negative. Most important, the scenario that is described only as an after thought at the end of the piece is virtually inevitable. Parliament has passed a law against the no deal brexit and despite his art of the deal fantasy about the loathed figure of Trump, there is simply no reason to believe that the EU is going to re-negotiate the deal they reached with Theresa May so as to deprive Northern Ireland of the backstop and through the region into a new time of troubles. So what are we faced with? Johnson is not going to get his snap election and the dreaded deadline is going to come and pass with no change. Firage is going to amp up his attack by calling for a non-constitutional no-deal attempt and throwing in a suggestion that non white commonwealth peoples should be exiled. Corbyn is going to lose support as Labour continues to dither....to speak in understatement...over their own position on Brexit but ultimately the remain forces will see a coming together of a Labour - LD- Green list who will cut this Gordian knot by pulling the plug on Brexit. The UK isn't Trump, and Trump fantasies arent either.
12
@Greg Jones
I wish. And I wish Corbyn weren't a secret Brexit supporter (though not a no-dealer).
Trumps big campaign promises were to build a wall and that the Mexicans would pay for it., so presumably he wouldn't need congressional support at all. That he would not only balance the budget but pay off the national debt. That he would repeal Obamacare. That he would bring back all the manufacturing jobs to the rust belt. That he would end our wars in the middle east. Boris promised that without fail he would get Britain out of the EU by Oct.31 and if he fails, as it appears that he will, then he will be much like Trump in making promises he can't keep. And another way they're the same is that for both, their base loves the boasting and doesn't care about promises not kept.
19
being trapped in one's own trap. That's how the brits appear to the continentals now, and we wait in disarray, contemplating the last Monty Python british nonsense production : brexit.
12
Ignore those nationwide polls. The electoral calculus is far more complicated than they suggest given the presence of a Brexit party splitting the Conservative and the likelihood that many of the roughly 5 million Conservative voters who strongly favor the EU could bolt to the Liberal Democrats. Then 10 or 15 of those Conservative MP's who have been kicked out of the party could stand as Independent Conservatives. They are almost certain lose all the 13 seats they have in Scotland and a fair number in the South and South West of the country. The Conservatives are already a minority government with about 12 seats short of an overall majority. This commentary is very superficial.
13
To Birch who writes "I would have thought Labour’s natural position would be to remain in the EU."
Not necessarily so
Let me explain
Assume the US and Canada form an economic Union that includes the right of free movement of people across the border and mutual recognition of accreditations
There would be some movement of people, but it would be manageable. This was the position of the UK when it joined the EU - France and Germany had similar wages as the UK
Now assume the Canada-US economic zone were expand t to include Mexico - where wages are 1/4 .
Hugh amounts of cheap labour would flood the US, depressing wages and putting natives out of jobs. This was the situation the UK found itself in when the EU expanded to include Poland.
From doctors to plumbers, Poles immigrated to UK. English plumbers lost their jobs. They were not amused and voted for Brexit.
British bankers in London were delighted - cheaper and faster repairs of the ancient plumbing of their mansions
I.e. Brexit opened a huge gap between the working class and the elites
How big was the Polish out flux and it is continuing ?
So large, that cities depopulated in Poland. Lodz, the 3rd largest city, lost 200 000 and has deserted streets.
To lessen it, the Polish government recently waved the income tax under the age of 26 years - a desperate measure
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/europe/pologne-l-exode-de-la-jeunesse_3612851.html
12
Seen from afar this Brexit stuff seems more and more disconnected from anything real or practical; maybe some years from now it will be seen like something akin to the wars of religion in the 17th century...
10
this thing looks more and more like 28 days later, the film. except here it's not a virus but populism...
6
Johnson isn't popular or respected; however, right now the alternative is Corbyn, and while the U.K. is apparently bonkers right now it isn't THAT nuts!
If the Labour Party had an even remotely acceptable leader they would have won the 2017 election against the hapless Teresa May in an overwhelming landslide.
10
It’s all too good to be true for Boris Johnson - the popularity, the personal support, the new girlfriend, no additional out of wedlock children. Were Tory leaders to put country ahead of personal gain and mount an all out campaign to expose Boris for the vapid charlatan he is, the country could still right its course and avert the deadly iceberg that’s Brexit. Former PM Cameron could thusly expiate his guilt over the referendum. While Brussels still refuses to negotiate any restrictions dealing with free passage across all EU countries, it may have to rethink that position. There are about 60 million dislocated human beings in the world right now, and Africa alone expects an additional one billion souls by 2030, where are those people going to go if and unless serious thought is given to human migration and local, regional investment.
5
Johnson is the UK's Trump and is doomed to failure with no deals ever. Can anyone name a "Deal" Trump has successfully negotiated? He has increased our Deficit enormously and perhaps we will go Bankrupt like every other Business he has touched.
15
Take someone who has arguably been incompetent at almost every job he has had, and put him in charge of the country as it tries to navigate through an incredibly difficult process.
What could possibly go wrong?
81
I think you are way premature to compare Boris to out POTUS.
Wait till he actually delivers Brexit - then may be.
Our POTUS has delivered on his campaign promises dear to his constituents - tax cuts, strong defense and less regulation.
And he survived Mueller.
Boris is hardly in his league as his own members have left his party or he had them expelled. None for our POTUS.
I have mentioned in a comment on Cameron - how british politics is all about personalities.
In that regard, this statement caught my attention:
"...Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson defies many of the normal rules of politics, laughing off setbacks and ignoring questions he would rather not answer. (He has, for example, never said publicly how many children he has fathered.)..."
Really??
With Britain facing existential threat - folks think Boris is a no body because he refused to tell number of his children.
Who cares??
Like whether our POTUS is really a billionaire - who cares??
4
@Neil
‘In that regard, this statement caught my attention: "...Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson defies many of the normal rules of politics, laughing off setbacks and ignoring questions he would rather not answer. (He has, for example, never said publicly how many children he has fathered.)..." Really?? With Britain facing existential threat - folks think Boris is a no body because he refused to tell number of his children.’
That’s a funny comment – the NYT cited his unwillingness to say how many children he has as an example of how he is an exceptional Teflon Prime Minister in some ways, not to suggest that ‘folks think Boris is a nobody because he refused to tell number of his children.’
3
@Neil
I do care whether our president is really a billionaire, not because of the money, obviously, but because I want to know if he tells the truth. I want to know if he is a successful business man as he claims, because he, and so many others erroneously believe this qualifies him to be president.
I question his honesty and his competence.
And speaking of who cares? Donald Trump cares. He constant need to repeat this tells you how much he cares.
11
@Neil You write: "With Britain facing existential threat - folks think Boris is a no body because he refused to tell number of his children. Who cares??"
Well, I care. He has betrayed his family and is now betraying his country. Too strong a comment? Look at the litany of lies he has told in order to pursue his ambition. He shames us all, whichever side of the Brexit divide we are on.
5
This picture of Boris reminds me so much of
Jerry Lewis’ character Professor Kelp. The teeth and the hair, particularly.
7
Both the Conservatives and Labour had millions of voters on both sides of the 2016 referendum. Since Johnson took over, the Conservatives have jettisoned their Remain supporters, but Corbyn has not done the same with his party's Leave supporters. Labour remains split by Brexit which is why Corbyn's position is so difficult. The young activist base of the party (thousands who joined because they were attracted to Corbyn's radical left activism) are overwhelmingly Remain. They are trying to force that stance on Corbyn at the Labour convention. The party's older working class supporters in the north of England are Leavers; their MPs have remained hard-line supporters of a negotiated Brexit. Many even voted for Theresa May's deal.
Corbyn has tried to please both sides. He maintains that since Leavers won the referendum, a Labour government will try to negotiate a soft-Brexit deal, and if he can achieve this with the EU and a vote in parliament, he promises to hold a referendum where that soft-Brexit deal and Remain are the only two choices, saying that he would be neutral, and Labour MPs would be free to campaign for their preferred choice. This position is remarkably balanced, democratic, and reconciliationist. It might well be the best possible way out of this destructive polarized impasse. Unfortunately, the UK is far too divided to appreciate its balance, its appeal to moderates on both sides, and trust in Corbyn is too low to permit him make the case persuasively.
18
@Wallyh
You are spot on. As an American ,I wish Britain luck. I cannot imagine Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales remaining in Britain. The Tories do nothing for them with the exception of funneling money their way as a bribe,not any substantial support. The E.U. Offers these states more,progress . London will become the playground for the rich foreigners, England will become desperate. I thought Britain would be better at remembering what it was like before the entry into the E.U. They couldn't build a car worth anything; GM engines in Rolls, lousy quality standards,etc. Does anyone wonder where in Europe Land Rover,Jaguar, Rolls & Bentley will move to? Or that Jaguar/Land Rover will get BMW engines from Germany instead of those built at Dagenham? The stupidity of economic imperialism espoused by the Tories & Trump is being supplanted by globalisitic cooperation ,that countries must compete (education,technology,& sustainability), not stupidity of burying ones head in ones nationalistic soil. What happened to capitalism as competition? England & U.S.A. don't want to compete anymore?
6
@Wally
Corbyn will be no more successful in negotiating a new deal than May or Johnson were. The deal previuously negotiated is all there is, and that has been rejected three times. This mess will be resolved only if Corbyn stops trying to please both sides, stops trying to be "balanced" and "reconciliationist," and drags his party into the Remaion camp, even if it means purging the Leavers. Sometimes, instead of seeking compromise, you simply have to take a stand -- a lesson I wish Democrats here would learn as well.
3
@Wally wrong! Corbyn has refused to back the vast majority of Labour supporters who are in favor of Remain or to argue for another referendum. His lifelong dislike of the EU has prevented him from fighting against Brexit or even giving citizens the chance to vote again, now that they know more of the risks. Far from being “balanced, democratic, and reconciliationist” as you say, his position is hypocritical, dishonest, and ultimately enabling Boris Johnson’s rise.
2
Just like in the US, apparently the British establishment - most of all the media - keep telling people how evil Johnson is, but the people no longer care what the establishment and media think - especially when it comes to open borders.
13
@Jack Dancer Exactly & it is not just about open borders. They care about what governments should care about, just the ordinary concerns & issues of most of the working people. Not the bug lights & the click bait issues that the media & the elitist "lets change the world & how it works to how we want it to work" people.
@Jack Dancer No doubt you also decry the criticism by the "main stream media" for President Trump as well.
The problem is, Boris Johnson IS a liar, an opportunist and a scoundrel.
While it may be true that a minority of people do not wish to be properly informed, the "main stream media" would be derelict in its duty NOT to inform the public as to the truth of what's going on. That is their mandate.
I personally thank God we live in a free society where access to the truth is easily available through reputable news organizations.
If people want to believe nonsense then that's their right and their problem.
2
@Jack Dancer
When you talk about "the people" the reality is that the country is severely polarised. Leavers may support Boris, but Remainers look at him with disbelief and disgust.
And the opinion polls show that Johnson's prorogation of Parliament is very unpopular.
(PS I live in the UK)
1
And once again, we are reminded of the underlying truth both in Britain and here in America:
Well played, Mr. Putin. Well played.
36
"Boris Johnson Is in Trouble With Brexit. Many Voters Don’t Mind"
Kind of like here--many voters don't mind Trump until he destroys the economy. And, as ever, it's too late.
20
After three years of Brexit debate and politics most people are fatigued. If angry Tories want to further diminish the United Kingdom at some point you need to step aside and wish them Godspeed. I suspect Scotland post-Brexit will seek its independence and join the EU. It's going to be chaotic and many years before the full ramifications are known.
33
Ms. Arlene Foster and the DUP have seen the parliamentary leverage they had evaporate. While Ms. Foster has indicated that she'd rather have NI remain in the "internal U.K. market," perhaps it is time to rethink whether that is the best option for the people of NI.
Long term, will those people better off with a U.K. that will be crippled for years, whatever the outcome of the Brexit drama, or will they be better off as an independent country and a member of the EU? NI has a population greater than the four smallest members of the EU. Going further, would both the Northern Irish and the Scots be better off forming a Celtic Republic that would be a member of the EU?
Thanks in part to generosity by the EU, households in Ireland already have substantially higher median household income than do the households in the U.K.
Independence/membership in the EU could be similarly beneficial to the people of NI.
11
From a historical perspective, the UK has always had an icy relationship with the mainland since it is cut off but the channel. However, now that it is so easy to bridge the gap, people go back and forth nonstop but the mindset has never really gone away. I think the Brexit vote should've been a 75% mandate instead of 50%. This is something that is so intense that it should've been a clear mandate that the vast majority of voters approved. However, what's done is done and the UK will have to suffer for their choice. I see the UK breaking up soon and the UK never fully recovering. The UK does not hold the "hip" or "cool" factor as much anymore. Just like the US, people see it as run by xenophobic, angry white people and bankers who want zero oversight. Younger people today see themselves as a global community- this short-term, angry white man isolation view will cause great harm to their kids and grandkids in the future as everyone else is uniting. You can't just cut the chord of decades of integration and expect everything to be hunky dory. Maybe if it was 1950 when the world wasn't so connected - but not in 2019. To people saying they don't like being part of a union they say doesn't represent their interests, talk to the people of Hawai'i and Alaska. Many despise Washington and there are always rumblings of breaking away but I don't see them rushing to just sever ties with DC.
15
Much of Britain’s wealth is based on attracting the foreign workers it needed when it needed them.
London is jokingly called France’s 6th biggest city as between 300,000 and 400,000 French people work there. Over 900,000 Polish people in Britain, etc.
Many of these valuable economic resources will leave or are already doing so, even if guarantees are put in place. It’s just not the same anymore after the referendum.
20
@Drew - Well said. Ironic also that the 2016 Referendum was legally non-binding.
9
It will be the height of irony if Brexit achieves what 150 years of IRA violence has not; a united Ireland
75
@rich
that will indeed be ironic, although your reference to "150 years" is baffling...the IRA under that naming convention is barely 100 years old, while armed resistance to British rule in Ireland goes back 800 years...reunification is indeed closer at hand that at any time since partition in 1922.
11
I am surprised that you did not note in your comments about Wednesday's hospital confrontation that the "confrontor", Omar Salam, although possibly somewhat concerned about his daughter who was recovering in the Acorn Children's ward at Whipps Cross Hospital when the Prime Minister visited, was in fact a Labour Party activist and former staff member of the hilariously incompetent Labour shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry (aka Lady Nugee).
If the confrontation was a "publicity stunt" it's fairly clear who arranged the "stunt." I think that many who saw the resultant video felt that Johnson coped pretty well with this latest "manufactured" confrontation. Left-wing Labour supporters will of course see Mr Salam's "outrage" as genuinely reflective of a wider hostility to Johnson. Ho-hum. Moving along...
7
@longsummer
Omar Salem might well be a Labour activist but he certainly didn't arrange for his 7 day-old daughter to be needing hospital care just to confront Johnson. So nobody arranged the "stunt" and your comment says more about you than it does about Salem.
29
The minute Russian influence was proven, the entire Brexit process should have been cancelled or restarted.
Borish Johnson is a much smarter version of Trump. Watching him struggle does help me understand why Trump has been unable to perform even the most basic duties of his office.
39
Can someone explain why Labour is sticking with Corbyn?
Is there no one else to lead?
52
The members of the party elect the leader and they, despite all evidence to the contrary, believe he is the best man for the job. He is losing some of his shine even with the party members, however, for his fudging over Brexit.
6
@Floyd Bourne
They really do need a better alternative than Corbyn to challenge Johnson. Farage is not prize either.
3
I think it is laughable that the Tories keep arguing that they are only "upholding the will of the British people" -by ramming Brexit through. They never mention the fact that the whole Brexit mess was, as was Trump's election, engineered by flimflam artists aided by Russia via Cambridge Analytica, et al. As the facts emerge, support for Brexit has steadily been lower than support for remain (about 52% to 48%) over the past several months as a look at several different polls will tell you (see NatCen Social Research Opinion polls). Trump and Johnson and their diehard core supporters are all cut from the same sleazy cloth and represent a very small, but loud and bullying, fraction of the public.
42
“... a very small but loud bullying faction ..”? Just come over to Britain and talk to the “very large but silent tolerant group” who are sick to death of the “loud bullying faction” who have done everything they possibly can over the past 3 years to stop what the majority of people want: to get out of the shackles imposed by the EU system. Read the statistics. By far and away the majority of people here, both Leave AND Remain want to move on and get out. That is why BoJo has the wide support he has. Trust in politicians is at any an all time low because of their failure to deliver the will of the people, for better or worse (economically). With all due respect you don’t know what you are talking about.
"Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in trouble with Brexit. But many voters don’t mind."
But what do those voters' critics say about those voters? And what do the critics' critics say about the voters? And ...
For once can you just tell us what happened, and not tell us what everybody *thought* about it in the same news story?
Apparently not.
5
I speak as a Labour / Lib Dem supporter who has never voted Conservative. In the states I would vote for Democrats down every ticket. I voted to leave the EU because I deeply and sincerely believe in the value of democracy. I simply want to be able to change my laws and my politicians if they don't work. Would you as Americans be happy to sign up to an international organisation that could and would overrule your supreme court, or tell your congress the laws it needs to pass, or ban you rescuing your car industry? If not why do you expect us too?
Somehow this feeling of wanting to be represented by the people who govern me has been classed as racist, as uninformed, or as an angry reaction to losing the benefits of being white and I can't figure out why. Anyway, after voting for a simple thing I've been told that its not possible, the parties I used to support have almost unanimously voted against the only deal the EU will offer - rightly because its an insult - and now also voted to 'ban' leaving without a deal. What is left? What does it say about their belief in democracy when they openly subvert the peoples will like that?
I always thought of Boris Johnson as a buffon but support him now because he is working to enact the will of the people. Its not him being anti-democratic its the reverse.
9
@illiterati--a good analysis of Brexit that i agree with.
What concerns me is someone saying how they have and will always vote straight line democrat in every election. That to me says one is not taking the time or making the effort to truly examine and evaluate both candidates objectively. Its quite possible that a moderate conservative could be a better candidate and a better choice than a progressive liberal and should garner one's vote. Unless of course one has an anarchistic intention and is just looking to overthrow and undue the govt. In that case I would call one illiterate and not "illiterati".
4
I agree with some of what you say. The EU was supposed to be social-democratic, but somehow was taken over by the austerians: people who believe that privatization is always best, taxes should be low and public services also.
Of course, the British were largely responsible for this: they consistently pushed the EU to the right (with help from the Germans, though for some reason I don't understand a lot of even left-leaning governments (Hollande for instance) secretly agreed that austerity was necessary.
Still, most of the EU's court decisions are good for everyone.
6
We here are already undemocratic. Our leaders and laws are chosen by an unelected Supreme Court, a russian puppet who won less than the majority of the vote. So by the logic you state, the blue states should vote leave.
12
How is it anti-democratic to seek a general election and a clear mandate?
15
The damage one party can do in one legislature is a strong argument against winner-takes-all democracy as seen in Britain and the US. Imagine Italy today would be governed like that...
A broader government coalition results in slower, subtler change.
This seems better in today’s polarized world.
11
Don't underestimate Boris Johnson. He likes being PM too much. There will be Brexit. With an accord. That will consist in putting much of the EU/UK border in the middle of the Irish sea. No more backstop. Parliament will have to vote for it, under the threat of annihilation.
Considering Boris' popularity and the British First-By-The-Post voting system, Boris I should get a majority after elections, because he is insured of 50% of the electorate, roughly...
Another point in favor of Brexit is that Macron (who joked around with Boris, who put his show on the French Elysee palace furniture...) also wants the UK out by October 31 (preferably with a deal, and J-C Juncker is supposed to get it) The Franco-British relationship is too important and close to not do what the British PM wants, especially when the French president wants it too...
14
@Patrice Ayme the trouble is that majority may still not vote to leave the EU without an agreement and they can't agree on an agreement so we're right back where we started. The trouble is 50% want to leave the EU, but 25% find any potential agreement with the EU unacceptable and another 25% find a no-deal Brexit unacceptable. Then 48% of the population don't want Brexit at all. So, the Tories CAN'T get a majority for Brexit on their own and there is no one else to provide the votes in Parliament. When 73% of the Parliament won't support your leave agreement, you get destroyed in votes like Teresa May.
A border between NI and the rest of the UK would be unconstitutional. In US terms, the Supreme Court would never approve of "cutting Alaska" off from the lower 48 states. And Alaska would never willingly go.
It's a mess no matter which way you look unless the remain Tories, no-deal rejecting Tories, and the other Remainers finally organize to kill this madness. Maybe the Liberals can cobble such a coalition together for one critical vote.
10
Macron is putting on a good show in France because it also suits him domestically to be tough on Britain. But no European leader wants to be the one who is blamed for a no-deal Brexit, so don’t be surprised when the EU grants the UK another extension. Since the UK cannot get its house in order over Brexit, this could well go on for some time.
7
@OneView I know all the preceding, I agree with you. However, Boris is going to fudge. He is not going to say: here is the border between North Ireland and the rest of the UK. He will just say: we will do some controls there, others, somewhere else. See: no border.
The French are preparing Internet based controls (no more borders, indeed, my dear Boris). Macron is delighted by all this: he is the new Napoleon, uniting the EU against Britain, he is the new Philippe Augustus, accepting England as vassal...
I wrote an essay on this explaining a bit better what is going to happen. Boris showed his hand (methinks deliberately) by going to celebrate the MAST thermonuclear reactor... which is EU financed (EURATOM), and celebrating it. That said, implicitly, Boris would cooperate with EU on important stuff. Notice he doesn't talk about the EU bill anymore... So Boris is formally brexiting... But not really...
The Crown has survived with it's Divide & Rule philosophy for centuries. All it's former colonies have endured this. India, Egypt, Palestine, African Nations, Caribbean Nations...
Finally, with nothing left to Divide, there is NI, Scotland and Wales.
The former mayor of London, may now be the last PM of UK.
8
Too bad, a mature democracy deserves better that having demagogues at the seat of government...provided it's citizens contribute to it's wellbeing. The Trumps and Borises ought not have this much power...to corruptly abuse it. Are we ready to look in the mirror, if we dare?
16
Take heed at what a sociopath can do to a country. The US may never come back to it's leadership position in the world after trump and the Republicans have soiled the Constitution and good word of our country
56
@M Vitelli
Our children are marching today to address climate change. Our leadership is packed with elites who are far from being bright on the GOP side doing anything to help democracy and America..
We can only hope that Trump with this latest incident is gone sooner than later so that the country and the world are not ruined by this madman. I hope the people in England realize that Boris and Trump are only doing the work of the Russians and like previous elites in both countries they were brought and paid for by the Nazis. Look at the history of Chase Manhattan Bank who gave loans to the Nazi's, and who did the computer work for the concentration camps, it was IBM American's famous corporations who since they do not hire minorities in top positions have only the white race to blame for relations with dictators..Boris is a true traitor to the citizens of England.
1
@M Vitelli The White House will need to be fumigated after Trump leaves, if he does.
1
Oh please.
A majority of Brits clearly want Brexit. Their motivations, at this point, are irrelevant. Let Boris manage the Brexit, and get out of his way. And if this bothers some Brits, stop whining like little children and come out to vote when necessary. You cannot have everything, cake and the eating at the same time. If you agreed to a non-representative process that gave equal weight to the yob down the street and the educated professional - then stop whining because you don't like the results.
If some tiresome similarity must be drawn with Trump, then here it is. Republicans clearly wanted a misogynist, ethnic nationalist, mob boss to rule the country and restore a sensibility in which they can rule, prosper, and subdue others as they wish. They accept that he will burn much of it down, and ensure some sort of a nuclear winter. Their professed motivations and hatred of Hillary are irrelevant. Let Trump burn the place down; get out of his way. If you don't like it, stop whining like a little child and show up to vote, and participate in the civic process. You cannot have it both ways.
12
Who needs elections or a second referendum if you just clearly know what people want...
9
@Kalidan
You have forgotten door number three: civil war.
1
I believe nations should learn through their mistakes and both the US and the UK are making many mistakes that should be good lessons for the future. The supporters of Trump and Johnson will be very unhappy in the future but it will have been earned through their own gullibility. Corporations will also learn that fascism is always a failed way of governance and they too will eventually pay the price. Real suffering is coming and it is deserved. Fortunately it is those with their heads in the sand who will suffer most.
I see no reason to fret over the coming carnage. It is clear that humans cannot live low stress lives. They appear to need chaos and they should have it. Long term we will be better off with the harsh lessons being learned now.
The only thing more ridiculous than the support shown by millions of people for the mentally stunted Trump and Johnson is the inept response by the opposition parties (Labour and DFL). It appears almost as if their responses are calculated to assure the success of their opponents.
6
Give Britain what it wants, for god's sake. Norway has free trade agreements with the EU - let Britain do the same.
Just like LGBT folks, Britain doesn't FEEL the EU thing.
So let 'em out!
Also, because I'm bored of the whole mess.
3
@roger
You may, upon further inspection with an open mind, discover that Norway’s arrangement with the EU looks more like membership than anything else. I hope you are not suggesting the the English have sunk their economy, along with that of Ulster, Wales and Scotland, for a generation, and likely dissolved the UK itself in the process, just do they can wind up in EU-Lite...
4
That's good. UK needs some one to do something about that Brexit which is not to nix the referendum will of the people. The parliament should be ignored as much as possible on this matter since their impotence is of historic proportions (for years all they say is 'no', which they now hammered into a law) and only not-very-smart people may think that anything meaningful can come from there.
So, yes, let the other half hate you, so what, that other half hates whoever does not think like them anyway, they hated May too, a little less though, since she tried to work with them.
As for Labour, they are getting exactly what they are deserving, keep on with Corbyn and neither-fish-nor-fowl attitude, you will never win anything.
1
The main problem is that while the Leave camp has a leader, the Remain camp does not.
32
In any case, long term, their places in history, Trump’s, Johnson’s, will not be good, long term.
What the electorate thinks today ? What long-term meaning does that have ?
9
The tragedy is that Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and too many other politicians myopically see the Brexit crisis as a way to satisfy their personal ambitions for power, rather than to serve the national interest.
56
Long ago and far away, poly science instructors professed that Britain might have the superior system of government to America's republic, with the immediacy of its government as opposed to our lethargic one. Of course, we dither now on our own churning constitutional crisis no less a threat to our country. But one factor remains constant in recent years in both systems, i.e., the undue influence of Putin's disinformation. Are the odds good for the democratic West, the bastion of hope and stability since WW II ?
18
The defining issue in this election is Brexit. Therefore, each party owes the public a definitive position on it. Labor's all-things-to-all-people is a historic and tragic failure. Labor's insistence in putting forward a historically toxic leader is political malpractice.
5
A large part of Boris Johnson's success ( and Trump's success also) is the failure of the political structure. What do I mean? Single member districts, both in the US and UK, are undemocratic. They tend strongly to allow a dominant MINORITY to win all the marbles/ seats and leave minorities spread over multiple districts with no representation. Archaic systems, supported by an archaic two party system with leaders who don't care about democracy.
WHat would be better? The hybrid system in Germany is a great alternative. Half the seats in each German state are elected from single member districts with the balance of seats backfilled by proportional representation. So minorities do have a minimum threshold to get a seat, but they wind up with representatives in the German assembly. SO more people vote since, under the current system, there is no reason to vote if you don't support either of the two parties vying to be the dominant minority.
Dems should try something like this arrangement at the state level if they actually believed in democracy. But that isn't really what they believe in either.
24
The City of London and its financial business, so far the center of resistance against Brexit, will decide that it will be better off with Johnson (one of their own, really, a man who went to Eaton and Cambridge) rather than with Corbyn
And thus Johnson will win.
7
@Lars - The City of London's clients want nothing to do with European banking and anti - money laundering rules....but the industry wants to keep access The EU financial services export market, worth 25.9 billion pounds in 2017. The Bank of England expects 4,000 jobs in banking and insurance will have moved from London to the EU by Brexit Day....Incredible the destruction this is all having.
12
The idea suggested below, that Labour and the Lib Dems (and the SNP in Scotland) should cooperate to run only the stronger candidate from either party in each constituency, would be best for the country. They have tried it in at least one specific case, but are they up to the personal sacrifices it would entail in a general election?
18
Folks, it's called democracy. The majority expressed it's opinion more than three years ago. Why is Britain still in?
5
@BD, 52% of 28% of the population is a grand total of 15% of the population in favor of Brexit. Hardly a mandate or a majority. If they are so certain their path is supported why are they so afraid of another referendum? Why the suspension of Parliament? Why the need for three different Prime Ministers in three years? Why the constant delays and extensions? Why the protests and marches? The only thing this process has in common with Democracy is that it's messy.
64
@BD because voters were told boldface lies by the leave campaign and targeted with illegally funded ad campaigns on social media by foreign interests. Super-majorities are often required to make significant changes in many organizations and political bodies, yet 50%+1 on Brexit when subversion was rampant justifies a do-over with the clear facts presented to make an informed decision.
78
Because Britain (Brexit voters) wants the EU to bend to its will; that won’t happen. Boris Johnson is just another charlatan but he doesn’t know it yet.
45
To be clear, Boris Johnson's support is nowhere near a majority. If Labour and the Liberal Democrats can work out an agreement so that they don't split the vote in individual districts, then they (together with the SNP) will end up with a solid majority in Parliament.
54
What Britain needs is for someone to replace Corbyn as leader of the Labor party. It should not be that difficult to find a leader that can be more popular than Johnson. The paradox of the Conservative Party gaining votes with a clown like Johnson is easily explained by the poor leadership provided by Corbyn, who cannot bring himself to become the leader of the opposition to Brexit and has managed to have himself tarred as an anti-Semite.
82
Boris' popularity, such as it is, is due in part to Corbyn's unacceptability to many who might otherwise support Labour.
USA Democrats please take note!
113
Surely Johnson's lead in the polls owes a great deal to Jeremy Corbin, whose bumbling and inept leadership makes anyone look good. I have yet to fathom what Corbin's position on Brexit really is, or if he even knows himself. I would have thought Labour’s natural position would be to remain in the EU. Surely no one in the Labour Party can believe the fraudulent promises on which Brexit was sold to the British people? If Corbin believes any benefits will flow to the British working class from this upper class swindle, surely that would be a good enough reason to support Johnson.
25
@Birch
Corbyn.
You're right, except that I and many others think Corbyn is a Brexiter (not a no-deal Brexiter) trying not to show it.
@Birch
Corbyn has delusions of creating a socialist paradise in the UK - if we can leave Europe - but he can't say that openly or his approval ratings would be even worse than they are now. He is a 70 year old failure living in the equally delusional world of a former Labour leader, Michael Foot, from the 1980s. Corbyn has been in Parliament for 36 years and has achieved absolutely nothing. The Labour Party is in thrall to a bunch of left wing ideologues who are just as bad as the right wing of the Conservative Party. Both main parties are struggling to control the extremists. Johnson is a busted flush. His hubris will be his undoing and it can't come quickly enough. Fortunately there are other alternatives which are likely to result in another hung Parliament after the next election. The last thing we need is to give any of the extremist groups a majority in Parliament.
1
Why is it when right wing politicians win, that they are doing so by "playing to their core" or because of populism? Who do left wing politicians play to & why are they winning if they are not populist??
16
@Hilda
"Populism" is one of those words like "epicenter" that journalists find attractive even though they have no idea and don't care what it means.
1
The article suggests that the political situation doesn't involve a binary opposition: conservative-labor. If a new election produces a hung parliament, will Labor unite with the Liberal Dems and the SNP to form a government? Johnson has lost his majority, so where will Parliament find one?
7
Johnson may look reasonably popular right up until he gets his wish for a no-deal exit from the EU. That popularity will vanish the day after the exit when the resulting economic calamity hits the UK. At that point, Corbyn's fecklessness around the Brexit issue could haunt Labour and produce a surprise win for the Whigs.
16
I can see how Johnson can remain popular. At least until he engineers his hard Brexit. Definitely want to see what happens when chaos hits on November 1.
17
It isn't that they like or even mind Boris, but its more that they don't like and don't want Jeremy Corbyn and his dated brand of radical Marxism to be Prime Minister who won't be much better on Brexit either considering that he's flip-flopped between yes and no to it constantly over the last few years, as even now he won't take a strong stance on either remain or leave, as he and Labour are being outshone and classed by the Scots and the Liberal Democrats who are taking the lead on Remain and on being a stronger opposition overall to the Tories.
And much like the Democrats over here, the party establishment is afraid to take action against him lest they anger and alienate young, progressive voters and supporters.
24
@Max
Except that the Democratic party establishment here already controls the party and already, as witnessed by its dragging its feet on impeachment, has chosen to ignore those progressive young voters as much as it can.
11
This is also generational. I predict that tide is about to turn against populism as younger people start to vote.
26
Corbyn is hopelessly flawed. He has never given a real answer on where he stands on Brexit and his several descents into anti-semitism, whether accidental or not, has doomed him with many voters.
Does any expert disagree that if Labour wants to win, it's going to have to get rid of him as leader? Otherwise, they'll be handing the next election to Boris.
103
Boris Johnson is fighting for Britain, as he sees it, just as Trump claims to fight for America--if others who claim to care so much had done the same, they would be in a stronger position. Seeing as they refuse to repent, but only dig in, their position will continue to deteriorate. Johnson will remain the best option. It's really quite simple. Fight for people, not bankers.
4
@Justaperson
Sorry, but no.
There is no evidence at all that Trump is "fighting for America." Other than doubling the federal deficit from Obama's last fiscal year, he has accomplished exactly nothing in more than two and a half years.
There is, however, reams of evidence that Trump is fighting for Trump. His resorts are full of his sycophants, foreign leaders, his security details, and various hangers-on. His cronies enrich themselves on Trump-inspired market swings. And extraction industries are having a field day on the elimination of clean air and clean water rules.
Trump's appeal, like Boris', is to the poorly educated, older white males who pine for a time when both countries were run by white guys who kept "them uppity women", blacks and brown people in their place.
200
@Justaperson
What evidence do you have that Boris Johnson is fighting for people, not bankers? Or, for that matter, that Trump fights for America? He fights for himself and his interests, not the interests of the American people.
48
@Justaperson It seems to me bankers are thriving under Trump while the people are being bankrupted.
4