On the Record | Boris Beware: Only Brexit Is Indispensable

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Boris Beware: Only Brexit Is Indispensable’:

Brexit is no equal to Paradise. I raise the point only to counter Victorian poet Robert Browning, who opined that “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” That is to say, Brexit should be within the grasp of Britons who asked for independence from the European Union. It is not too much to ask.

Yet more than three years since the historic vote, Britain is still a member of the EU. Having failed to meet the deadline of March 29, Brexiteers are understandably underwhelmed they will actually achieve independence by the new one, October 31.

Surely, after finally cashiering the “Remainer” prime minister, Theresa May, and with two Tory leadership contenders vowing to exit on the prescribed date, “do or die,” Brexiteers can rest on their oars? Would were it so simple.

Truth is, neither candidate, Boris Johnson nor Jeremy Hunt, can be wholly trusted on the Brexit file. Not to impugn the probity of either man. Rather, that political exigencies — the hope of holding out for more favorable terms, fear of a general election, a Jeremy Corbyn “socialist” government, or Project Fear’s “economic collapse” propaganda — may induce them to waffle on Brexit’s end of October deadline or its “independence” agenda.

Breitbart columnist James Delingpole voices the collective concern over the leading protagonist.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Happy Brexit Day, Despite the Wait

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Happy Brexit Day, Despite the Wait’:

Your Diarist would be amiss were he not to wish, all and sundry, a happy “Independence Day.”

Doubtless you think either I’m having an “episode” or it’s already the Fourth of July (after the speediest fortnight in history). Well, I can assure you that we’re still in the last quarter of June.

No, I bring glad tidings on the third anniversary of Britain’s 2016 referendum vote to exit the European Union. Huzzah! If Britain and America are divided by a common language, how does one say “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in London?

The historic occasion sneaks upon even the most earnest Brexiteer almost as an afterthought. That speaks to what supporters of Britain’s independence have endured, for the past 36 months, from the machinations of the European Union.

Boris Johnson, now a leading contender to become the next Conservative leader and British prime minister, coined the “Independence Day” Brexit shorthand during the lead-up to the referendum, in which he made a huge contribution.

Until he stepped into the van, the pro-independence faction was largely about the faults of membership in the EU — the costs, the interference, the open border. It was Mr. Johnson who focused on the “sunny uplands” of liberty.

Yuuuge, as Mr. Trump might say.

At the time, it is easy to see how idealists would identify with the Second Continental Congress and the 56 delegates sweltering in the Philadelphian heat that July 1776.

The Founders were debating the merits of Richard Henry Lee’s Virginia resolution, that these thirteen “United Colonies” declare themselves “free and independent states . . . absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown,” with “all political connection . . . totally dissolved.”

Two and a half centuries later and with the shoes on different feet, the ensuing realities disclose that the Brexit euphoria was premature.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Brexit: How to Prove Rousseau Wrong

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Brexit: How to Prove Rousseau Wrong’:

Boris Johnson vs. Jeremy Hunt. Conservative MPs have whittled the list of contenders down to two colleagues, who will now canvas the party membership for support. The prize? To be leader of the Tories and British prime minister. Achieving both is still worth the effort. “Just.” Achieving Brexit adds ineffable lustre to each office; without Brexit, each is little more than a pale reflection of past glory.

Heady days indeed for Tory Brexiteers. Not only have they finally rid themselves of failed premier Theresa May — it lies within their power to anoint a paladin for British independence. Though neither candidate is wholly free of Brexit heresy.

Mr. Johnson lapsed when he feared it was either Mrs. May’s imperfect Withdrawal Agreement or nothing. Mr. Hunt began as a “Remainer” before converting to faith in Britain’s future outside the European Union, while never abandoning his backing for the suspect Withdrawal plan.

Tories should be grateful for the opportunity to be “wooed” for their vote. They serve as proxies for the nation-at-large. Even if Boris is the clear favorite, he should earn their trust for the honor of taking up residence at 10 Downing Street. Don’t hand it to either contender on a silver platter.

Recollect what Jean-Jacques Rousseau said 2½ centuries ago. “The English people believes itself to be free,” the Genevan philosopher observed in The Social Contract. He felt this a grave mistake. They are “free only during the election of Members of Parliament.” Once elected, Britons are “enslaved” once more and are “nothing.”

Don’t waste this chance to push hard for UK independence from the EU. Brexit fidelity is the sine qua non of British politics for the foreseeable future.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Is BoJo the Man for Brexit?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Is BoJo the Man for Brexit?’:

Barring phenomenal bad luck on his part, Boris Johnson is the Conservative MP most likely to succeed as party leader and British prime minister. He is the favorite MP of declared parliamentary colleagues who will choose two leadership candidates to put before the membership. And among Conservative rank-and-file, BoJo is far and away their favorite Tory in Parliament.

A few short months ago, most Brexiteers would swoon at the prospect. During the 2016 referendum, BoJo was the most colorful proponent for British independence from the European Union. When “Remain” premier David Cameron resigned after the decisive vote to leave, expectations were dashed when Mr. Johnson decided not to “climb the greasy pole” to the top job.

Instead, Britain got Theresa May and the rest is a sad litany of Brexit betrayal, mendacious mandarins, and pitiful parliamentary posturing. Now it is Mrs. May’s time to leave 10 Downing street. Mr. Johnson will not let it pass him by again. As Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen puts it, “The only person who could stop Boris would be Boris.”

Therein lies the rub. Is Mr. Johnson the leader to make Britain’s independence from the European Union a reality, fulfilling the long-term promise of Brexit?

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | ‘Help Wanted’: A Leader to Win Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘ “Help Wanted”: A Leader to Win Brexit’:

Pity the Conservative members of Parliament. This month their party was decimated at local and European elections. Now Prime Minister May announces her intention to resign in early June. Tory MPs will soon be leaderless. The awesome responsibility falls to them (and party members) to choose not only a new head but premier — and while Britain’s independence hangs in the balance.

Harried Tories have little time to reflect on the necessary qualifications for such high office. They are swept up in continuing contumely, from politicians and people alike — including their Conservative colleagues. What’s a troubled Tory to do? I am reminded of the Committee for the Responsible Election of the Pope that, in August 1978 at the death of Paul VI, issued a press release in aid of cardinals about to elect the next pontiff.

To begin, Brexit has to be the next leader’s priority. There’s no shirking. Any candidate who downplays the importance of British independence from the EU doesn’t deserve to reach the starting gate.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | With May Leaving, the Hard Part of Brexit Begins

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘With May Leaving, the Hard Part of Brexit Begins’:

Can Brexiteers take any comfort in what is to date their sole consolation prize? In lieu of reveling in two months of freedom from the European Union, champions of British independence have to settle, for now, with news of the Prime Minister’s pending departure.

Theresa May’s announcement Friday came in all too true fashion, postponing her widely sought resignation from the Conservative leadership until June 7. She will remain premier until a successor is chosen, no later than the end of July.

Nothing so embodies Mrs. May’s premiership as her leaving of it — grudging, acrimonious, and interminable. Not to mention vainglorious, pompous, and disingenuous. Nevertheless, Britons can take satisfaction that she will soon be gone.

Just don’t uncork the champagne. Brexiteers have yet to secure Brexit. They’ve simply cashiered one known antagonist for many unknown aspirants to power, each awaiting his chance to climb what Disraeli dubbed the “greasy pole.”

This is, however, an opportunity for the Conservative party to begin redeeming itself. With Nigel Farage’s Brexit party polling at 37% and Tories languishing at 7%, Britain’s natural party of government has much for which to atone.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Will Trump Summit with Nigel Farage?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Will Trump Summit with Nigel Farage?’:

How do you say “carpe diem” with a pint in one hand and a cigarette in the other? No one doubts that Nigel Farage and his Brexit party have seized the day. As Britons cast ballots for a European parliament they voted in the 2016 referendum to leave, Mr. Farage and his cohorts brilliantly capture the public’s mood: British independence delayed but not defeated.

The latest polling indicates that the Brexit party will seize the largest share of Britain’s MEPs. YouGov reports that the Brexit party, active for a mere six weeks, stands at 37%. Labor is a distant 13%, while Conservatives languish dismally at 7%.

Breaking down those numbers, Breitbart London, which has done a terrific job on this story, shows that of electors who voted Conservative in the 2017 general election, 65% are now supporting Farage’s Brexit party (only 16% remain loyal to the Tories).

As for the next national election — by law, to be held no later than May 2022 — the Brexit party’s prospects are prompting the mainstream to take notice. YouGov polling shows both Conservatives and Labor with 25% support, with a “virtual” Brexit group (no Westminster designation yet exists) at 18%.

With these numbers, it is easy to see why Crispin Blunt and other Brexiteer Tories see future collaboration with Nigel Farage as essential to delivering Brexit. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg agrees. He is keen on forming a coalition in aid of independence. In the long-term, Mr. Rees-Mogg wants to reinvigorate conservative principles.

British sovereignty, limited government, fiscal prudence, and personal responsibility — all, incidentally, are comprised in the core of the Brexit promise.

Meanwhile, with Mr. Farage and the Brexit party commanding the headlines, other political “breaking” developments are no more than endnotes to the main event.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Could Brexit Party Join with Tories to Save Britain?

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Could Brexit Party Join with Tories to Save Britain?’:

Have UK Conservatives lost their noggins along with their wills? That Theresa May continues as the head of her party (it is fatuous to say she “leads” it) with Brexit hanging perilously in the balance, is singular proof that Tories lack for will-power.

To remain on this path to destruction — of their country, possibly; of their party, certainly — suggests they have lost contact with reason, too.

Perhaps all is not lost. Tory MP Crispin Blunt, for one, admits the inexorable: “We are going to have to come to an accommodation with the Brexit Party.”

Mr. Blunt gives voice to the blatantly obvious, but is no less brave for stating, to his colleagues, unpalatable truth. “The Conservatives as a Brexit party, being very clear about their objectives are almost certainly going to have to go into some kind of electoral arrangement with the Brexit Party.”

To wit: “Otherwise Brexit doesn’t happen.”

In a recent wire, your diarist broached the likelihood of union of the Conservative and Brexit parties. It would be no mean feat to accomplish.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | UK Voters Exact Retribution for Dodging Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘UK Voters Exact Retribution for Dodging Brexit’:

Brexit delayed is Brexit denied. Such logic fueled local elections in Britain, as voters exacted retribution for politicians’ refusal to discharge the people’s desire to exit the European Union and redeem UK independence. Hundreds of ballot papers were spoiled as variations of one word, embodying Britons’ one true choice, were scrawled across them. “Brexit.”

After the worst showing for Tories since John Major’s premiership — 1,334 seats lost and control of 44 English councils — Breitbart London reports that senior Tories have told Prime Minister May “to set a departure date next week.”

If she refuses, Conservatives’ backbench organization, the 1922 Committee, “could decide to change party rules to allow another no-confidence vote this year.” (A similar vote in December failed and, according to current party rules, 12 months must pass before holding another leadership challenge.)

Last month the Committee decided to force Mrs. May’s hand, discussing new rules to cut the moratorium in half and holding a new vote on June 12 (six months after the last contest) but backed off, not wanting to “rock the boat” so close to local and European Parliament elections.

How did that brilliant foresight work for Tories? Further delays only exemplify their unfitness for political office and the people’s trust.

I’m shocked that voters punished Conservatives for their continuing Brexit fiasco. Council members are not offending parliamentarians. Yet they suffer (with apologies to Shakespeare) as Cinna the poet did when mistaken for Cinna the conspirator in “Julius Caesar” — “It is no matter. Their names are Conservative. Vote them out.”

Forgive your diarist for a touch of pique, but this is news to whom?

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | New Party Rises in Britain to Rescue Brexit

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘New Party Rises in Britain to Rescue Brexit’:

The British Prime Minister is a wrecking crew of one. Theresa May scuttled Britain’s March 29 exit from the European Union. Her preferred withdrawal option places the UK in a worse position in relation to the EU. Not content to wreak havoc in foreign relations, she is effectively destroying the Conservative party.

This is a moment to harken to Newton’s third law — “to every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” It’s starting to look as if the third law applies in politics too, and is now in full force in Britain. Mrs. May has midwifed the Brexit party.

With Nigel Farage at its head, the Brexit party was formed when Britain failed to exit the EU as Britons — and Parliament — ordained. In a few short weeks it will contest the European Parliament elections and fight a polite but firm guerrilla campaign for Brexit in Brussels. Tories’ truculence at home augurs that Mr. Farage must take the fight to Westminster as well.

“We want the European election to be the first step of a massive change that re-steps entirely British politics and actually makes it look more like the country,” Mr. Farage told the London Sun. “MPs will realize that if they carry on trying to stop Brexit, they’ll lose their seats at the next General Election.”

The Brexit party’s leadership is hoping that current polling trends can be replicated at the national election in 2022. The most recent YouGov poll on MEP voting intentions has it leading with 28%, Labor at 22%, and the Tories far in the rear (with less than half Brexit party support) at 13%.

Conservative party brass shudder at the idea.

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.

On the Record | Cry ‘God for Brexit, England, and Saint George!’

Please see my latest wire as Brexit diarist for The New York Sun, ‘Tory Rank, File Taking Brexit to the Polls’:

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot.

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge

Cry ‘God for Brexit, England, and Saint George!’

Apologies from your diarist for altering Shakespeare’s immortal cheer. Are any willing to call me on it? Certainly not Theresa May. The Prime Minister is no stickler for the literal truth, having twice “postponed” Britain’s March 29 exit from the European Union. It’s a worthy reflection this St. George’s Day. Instead of dragons, however, watch for the foes of Britain’s independence.

Oh, they are legion. The worst such foes of freedom are those in Parliament, where they comprise some three-quarters of Westminster. MPs “stooped” and promised to abide by the 2016 EU referendum on whether to remain or leave. A majority of Britons voted to leave. MPs merely bided their time. That’s gratitude for you.

Again, in the 2017 snap election, both Conservative and Labor parties made manifesto commitments to uphold the people’s choice. Subsequent events proved their words hollow. Mrs. May’s passivity in the face of Brussels negotiators, agreeing to their timetable, concessions, and demand for financial compensation, gave the lie to her mantra that “Brexit means Brexit.”

Benjamin Disraeli had the measure of politicians’ mettle. While he showered praise upon Britain’s parliamentary system of government, he entertained no illusions about those who wielded power. “There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable,” Dizzy wrote with characteristic clarity, “for in politics there is no honor.”

With Brexit bravery in short supply in Parliament, who will prove the people’s paladin?

Read more . . .

Remarks are welcome on DMI’s Facebook page.

__________

My thanks to editor Seth Lipsky of The New York Sun.