Monday, June 27, 2016
Bend it like Boris
I am indebted to the writer Jeanette Winterson for the title to this blog. It is worth checking out the link for a few more Brexit phrases. But the reason why I chose the headline is this article on the BBC in which the former Mayor of London proves that he really does live in a fantasy land.
The BBC reference a column written by Mr. Johnson for the Daily Telegraph in which he writes:
"I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe, and always will be.
"There will still be intense and intensifying European co-operation and partnership in a huge number of fields: the arts, the sciences, the universities, and on improving the environment.
"EU citizens living in this country will have their rights fully protected, and the same goes for British citizens living in the EU.
"British people will still be able to go and work in the EU; to live; to travel; to study; to buy homes and to settle down. As the German equivalent of the CBI - the BDI - has very sensibly reminded us, there will continue to be free trade, and access to the single market.
"The only change - and it will not come in any great rush - is that the UK will extricate itself from the EU's extraordinary and opaque system of legislation: the vast and growing corpus of law enacted by a European Court of Justice from which there can be no appeal."
So Boris' vision is that we leave the EU but continue to enjoy all its benefits without any downside. Is that what people voted for? It certainly was not what the Leave campaign told people they should vote for. And there is no way European Leaders would countenance such a deal without extracting a very high price.
Boris is not stupid so that just leaves a choice of him being either very naïve or extremely disingenuous.
The BBC reference a column written by Mr. Johnson for the Daily Telegraph in which he writes:
"I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe, and always will be.
"There will still be intense and intensifying European co-operation and partnership in a huge number of fields: the arts, the sciences, the universities, and on improving the environment.
"EU citizens living in this country will have their rights fully protected, and the same goes for British citizens living in the EU.
"British people will still be able to go and work in the EU; to live; to travel; to study; to buy homes and to settle down. As the German equivalent of the CBI - the BDI - has very sensibly reminded us, there will continue to be free trade, and access to the single market.
"The only change - and it will not come in any great rush - is that the UK will extricate itself from the EU's extraordinary and opaque system of legislation: the vast and growing corpus of law enacted by a European Court of Justice from which there can be no appeal."
So Boris' vision is that we leave the EU but continue to enjoy all its benefits without any downside. Is that what people voted for? It certainly was not what the Leave campaign told people they should vote for. And there is no way European Leaders would countenance such a deal without extracting a very high price.
Boris is not stupid so that just leaves a choice of him being either very naïve or extremely disingenuous.
