Friday, September 06, 2019
Johnston on tour #PleaseLeaveMyTown
The man who very politely asked Boris Johnston to please leave my town, and in doing so helped to create a hashtag for our times, spoke for many of us.
The Prime Minister is trying to emulate Trump, but his bumbling is convincing nobody, even devout Brexiteers, who were amongst many of his critics when he was in Wakefield yesterday.
And who was it who agreed to allow Johnston to politicise police cadets in the way he did, using them as a backdrop for his highly politicised pro-Brexit speech? In doing so he failed to even tend to the cadet behind him for whom it became too much, as she became unwell and had to sit out the rest of his remarks. Johnson should be emulating the basic humanity shown by Obama when faced with a similar situation, not Trump.
It is little wonder that the EU remains unconvinced of Johnson authenticity, his sincerity and the level of support he has in the country for his views. And frankly, even if they were, why would they change their red lines to suit a country that has rejected all they stand for.
One of the reasons for that lies in this piece in the Independent in which they reveal that the European Union have revealed that there have been “no real negotiations” in Brussels since Johnson entered Downing Street.
The paper says that for weeks, the EU has been waiting for Mr Johnson to make a concrete suggestion on how to end the impasse over their divorce agreement. Without any fundamental change of approach, they are showing little willingness to grant another extension to Britain’s departure:
While the sides are holding technical-level talks aimed at finding a way forward, no new proposals have been made on the main sticking point – how to maintain a seamless and open border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Mr Johnson’s hoped-for deal appears to be purely intended for domestic consumption to most EU ears. “For the talks to make progress, we would need to receive concrete proposals that are compatible with the withdrawal agreement,” European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters this week, after the first round of technical talks.
I think it is getting to the point that if Boris turned up in Brussels he would be asked please leave my town.
The Prime Minister is trying to emulate Trump, but his bumbling is convincing nobody, even devout Brexiteers, who were amongst many of his critics when he was in Wakefield yesterday.
And who was it who agreed to allow Johnston to politicise police cadets in the way he did, using them as a backdrop for his highly politicised pro-Brexit speech? In doing so he failed to even tend to the cadet behind him for whom it became too much, as she became unwell and had to sit out the rest of his remarks. Johnson should be emulating the basic humanity shown by Obama when faced with a similar situation, not Trump.
It is little wonder that the EU remains unconvinced of Johnson authenticity, his sincerity and the level of support he has in the country for his views. And frankly, even if they were, why would they change their red lines to suit a country that has rejected all they stand for.
One of the reasons for that lies in this piece in the Independent in which they reveal that the European Union have revealed that there have been “no real negotiations” in Brussels since Johnson entered Downing Street.
The paper says that for weeks, the EU has been waiting for Mr Johnson to make a concrete suggestion on how to end the impasse over their divorce agreement. Without any fundamental change of approach, they are showing little willingness to grant another extension to Britain’s departure:
While the sides are holding technical-level talks aimed at finding a way forward, no new proposals have been made on the main sticking point – how to maintain a seamless and open border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Mr Johnson’s hoped-for deal appears to be purely intended for domestic consumption to most EU ears. “For the talks to make progress, we would need to receive concrete proposals that are compatible with the withdrawal agreement,” European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters this week, after the first round of technical talks.
I think it is getting to the point that if Boris turned up in Brussels he would be asked please leave my town.
