Who is popular today?

The Conservative party must end its embrace of radical populism, which is pouring poison into the national debate
Britain is five weeks away from the ruinous and dangerous position of leaving the European Union without a deal. There is no sign of the country having made any progress towards getting one. Boris Johnson did not meet the 30-day deadline set by Angela Merkel to come up with an alternative solution to replace the Irish backstop to resolve the Brexit impasse with the European Union. This week he suffered a devastating judicial blow in the supreme court over an attempt to suspend parliament for an unprecedented five weeks at a time of political crisis to evade scrutiny. In a worrying sign of how far the Tories have embraced radical populism, its MPs responded by calling for the court to be abolished. And instead of remorse Mr Johnson offered offence in parliament, couching his bluster in the jingoistic terms of “betrayal”, “surrender” and “sabotage”. He is exasperated that his opponents refuse to fall into the trap of calling for an early election.
Mr Johnson, like his predecessor Theresa May, describes Brexit as the will of the British people. It isn’t – not least because there was no shared vision as to what “leave” actually meant – but the language is designed to remove dissent, and any acknowledgment of diverse voices and views. The contraction of Brexit and the national interest has curdled and soured British politics. While the result deserves respect, almost half the country opposed it. During the referendum campaign Mr Johnson, a prominent leaver, did not engage in a deliberative, honest and respectful argument with opponents – a historic failure in light of the gravity of the decision. In office he has continued to offer insouciance and belligerence. Continue reading...