Welcome To Zelo Street!

This is a blog of liberal stance and independent mind

Friday 2 June 2017

Tories’ Brexit Advantage GONE

In yet another apparent reboot of her General Election campaign, Theresa May spent much of yesterday - well, the part where she wasn’t aimlessly parroting slogans in order to put the press off the scent - telling anyone who would listen that only with the Tories could there be a half decent Brexit settlement. This was her latest defence against declining poll ratings, the means by which her campaign would get back on track.
And then, in the space of less than a minute, it began to unravel, as Jeremy Corbyn confirmed Labour’s Brexit negotiating team. Any advantage Team May might have retained then vanished completely as first the ranks of the media, and then the voters, looked at the Tory team, then looked at the Labour offering, and concluded that the imperial progress of the Empress Theresa was going nowhere on this one.

As predicted, Labour’s Brexit negotiating team would be headed by Keir Starmer, a barrister of decades’ standing, a QC, and a former Director of Public Prosecutions. Compare and contrast with David Davis, a well-meaning Tory, but one for whom the seriousness and complexity of the Brexit negotiations has never been wholly taken on board. The rest of the Labour team is equally sound.

Emily Thornberry, shadowing the Foreign Office, compares well to London’s formerly very occasional Mayor Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, whose main claim to fame with the EU has been to talk well, but lie badly, about it. Ms Thornberry has been steadier and more assured as the election campaign has progressed; Bozza’s main contribution has been in waving his arms and losing it badly in the aftermath of TV debates.
Barry Gardiner has also had a good election campaign, and before that was shadowing the job done by disgraced former Defence Secretary Liam Fox. The choice between the two men is straightforward: a safe pair of hands in Gardiner, or a spiv. Also, Fox’s proximity to a number of highly conservative US interest groups does not suggest he would be an even-handed trade representative. Not good for the Tories.

So the choice between Tory and Labour is a straightforward one: a vastly experienced lawyer, with experienced and competent support, versus the man who goofed over the Tories’ immigration target on Question Time last night, backed up by a liar and charlatan more interested in Himself Personally Now, and a spiv more interested in the main chance for him and his States mates.

And as to Theresa May being there to head her team, maybe that might be too much to ask: not only did she callously send Amber Rudd to bat for the Tories in last night’s TV debate despite Ms Rudd’s father dying on Monday, but she has refused an invitation to go on BBC Woman’s Hour - the show where Corbyn had his brain fart earlier this week - and has dumped on Justine Greening instead. Not a good look.

Strong and stable? As Winshton might have observed, “shome shtrength … shome shtability”. Anyone would think she isn’t up to the job. Just a thought.

6 comments:

Arnold said...

David Davis. Ah yes. Didn't he believe that we could negotiate with individual EU countries?

Anonymous said...

Sadly, thanks to New Labour, the odds are still stacked against Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters.

But we live in hope.

Imagine the hate-filled bullshit and dismay that'll pour out of Canary Wharf/Wall Street/Oxbridge mob/mainstream media if Labour deliver an utterly unexpected win.

Whatever happens, it's been a joy to watch the tories and their equally corrupt media in disarray as they seek to "explain" the "new politics".

NOBODY can now claim there is no alternative. Whether Corbyn and Co could deliver in the face of international banking corruption is another matter.

But for now, just let's stick it to the tory hoodlums and barrow boys.

Lampy said...

I see that today's alliterative buzzwords are 'coalition of chaos', Ms Greening used it several times on Woman's hour before I turned it off.

Ted Bangor said...

So who wants to start the betting on just how the Daily Fail is going to (almost) libel the Labour team?

Of course, one is a barrister, which is almost a judge and as we know from the Brexit vote, judges are the "Enemy of the People", so that will be a good place to start.

Anonymous said...

his 'interview' with Krishnan Guru Murthy the other day surely raises question about david davis's sobriety?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ49aAP6ZpE

Rich M said...

I just read that Theresa May is aiming to replace David Davis with a Bren Gunner after the election. I know leaving is partly driven by our experience in WWII but surely this is a step too far.