The Day Brexit Died

The warnings having been dismissed as Project Fear, and the General Election having been won, alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and his coterie of rank ineptitude charged onward to the cliff edge. His Brexit negotiator “Lord” David Frost, hopelessly out of his depth against the EU’s Michel Barnier, was turned over and signed up to a deal which would hobble the UK for decades to come.

But Bozo, and his pals in our free and fearless press, were not listening. They knew better. And then came the fall: supermarket shortages, energy price hikes - and now, to cap it off, fuel shortages. Scenes of motorists queuing at the pumps, fuel stations running dry, and those same press cheerleaders in a blind panic. It was more or less exactly as predicted.

The winter of discontent had arrived early: all that would be needed now was for all those shortages to get worse, and for Covid-19 to come roaring back, helped on its way by Bozo and Co dispensing with common sense restrictions - like wearing face coverings on public transport and in enclosed spaces, like shops. 1978-9 would look like a picnic.

So what would our Government do to address the shortages, which were caused mainly by another shortage - not enough HGV drivers? Urged to ease visa restrictions for drivers from mainland Europe, Bozo and his Transport Secretary Grant “Spiv” Shapps initially resisted. Maybe they still held to the line pedalled by Michael “Oiky” Gove, and handed to Tim Shipman of the Murdoch Sunday Times, before the 2016 EU referendum.

“MIGRANTS POSE A DIRECT COST TO US ALL” was the headline. The reality is that not having migrants poses a rather greater cost - the country gradually seizing up. But while “Oiky” and Shippers join all the other Brexit Guilty Men And Women, Bozo and “Spiv” Shapps need to act. And so it came to pass: the U-Turn that signalled the end of Brexit.

The BBC reported “Ministers are working on plans for a temporary visa scheme to make it easier for foreign lorry drivers to come to the UK. Final details of exactly how the initiative will work are expected to be announced this weekend. Any changes to immigration rules will be temporary, with a cap on the number of workers allowed to enter the UK”.

But here a problem enters. As iNews has pointed out, those drivers may not want to return: “European lorry drivers are likely to shun the UK despite an expected relaxation of visa rules for truckers … the head of the European Road Haulers Association (UETR) has said drivers on the continent are likely to ignore the UK in favour of ‘higher pay and better working conditions’ across Europe”. UETR represents more than 70% of EU truckers.

Marco Digioia (for it was he) added “There are driver shortages right across Europe as well, but the EU has committed to improving driver facilities and haulage companies are committed to improving pay and conditions. Until the UK offers the same pay and working conditions as drivers have in the EU then many will stay away”. Well, well.

We could get drivers to return by paying them more and following the latest EU rules. Or we could remain proudly independent and munch on a little more of that sovereignty. But one thing is clear: Brexit is a disaster, and will need to be at least partially reversed.

Meanwhile, the UK is in the shit. What our media class won’t be telling you any time soon.

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