Brexit - A Remainer Did It And Ran Away

The excuses peddled this morning at the Tory party conference in Manchester - delivered to a more than half-empty auditorium - by “Lord” David Frost, who was comprehensively outclassed and consummately turned over by Michel Barnier during the Brexit negotiations, should not come as a surprise to observers of the all-new Tory Newspeak.

After all, alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson has already told the world that the reason for shortages of supermarket goods is because we in Britain are no longer going to depend on cheap foreign labour and are transitioning to a higher-wage, higher-skill, more productive workforce. Moreover, we should Look Over There at the pandemic, even though the rest of Europe has that, but no shortages.

As so often, the new line to take on Europe has been briefed beforehand to the more obliging part of our free and fearless press, which today means the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph. The headline is particularly lame: “Frost draws up plans to replace NI protocol … Britain ‘can’t wait forever’ warns minister as he puts Brussels on notice that he is ready to trigger Article 16”. Now look here, Johnny Foreigner!

There is more. “BRITAIN has drawn up proposals to replace the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol permanently … the UK … and will trigger Article 16 unless [the EU] caves to his demands … Putting the EU on notice … unless the bloc moves ‘soon’, the UK will trigger Article 16 … allowing it to suspend parts of the Protocol unilaterally”. Yeah, right.

So let’s see how Frost span that to his less than capacity audience. “Conference, I want to say a particular word about one part of our United Kingdom - Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Protocol is not working and needs to change. Yes, we agreed the Protocol in that difficult Autumn two years ago. We knew we were taking a risk [news to all of those who were told how great and ‘oven-ready’ the deal with the EU was]”.

Do go on. “But a worthy one, in the cause of peace, in the cause of protecting the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. It was the right thing to do [so what’s his problem?]. It ended our constitutional crisis [what crisis?]. It meant our country could leave the EU, whole, free, and with real choices about the future. Of course, we wanted to negotiate something better [but somehow failed to mention it], if it had not been for the madness …” Eh?

“ … of the Surrender Act [you WHAT?] we could have done so. So we worried right from the start [how to conjure up an excuse that wasn’t obviously lame] the the Protocol would not take the strain if not handled sensitively. As it has turned out, we were right [yes, the excuse is very obviously lame]. The arrangements have begun to come apart even more quickly than we feared [did you and your pals even bother trying to implement them?]”

So the law blocking a no-deal Brexit was the one wot done it. Or, put another way, a big remainer boy did it and ran away. And if the rotten remainers hadn’t done it, Frost wants us to believe that he and Bozo would have negotiated something better, but exactly what that was going to be, he wasn’t telling the world then, and isn’t telling his conference now.

This is so much cant. Frost negotiated the deal, and the Protocol, and instead of making lame excuses and indulging in yet more Newspeak, he should admit he was bested by the EU side, and own the problem. But that would involve honesty, and that would never do.

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