Boris’s Brexit deal is like Boris bikes, thought of by someone else and carried out badly

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Friday 18 October 2019 14:58 BST
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Ken Livingstone announced the initial concept of a public bicycle hire scheme; his successor as London mayor took the credit
Ken Livingstone announced the initial concept of a public bicycle hire scheme; his successor as London mayor took the credit

“Boris’s deal” reminds me of “Boris bikes”. For they too were imagined, proposed, planned and developed by his immediate predecessor, only for Johnson to take credit for them within a few weeks of assuming office. There are even many who still believe the original scheme would have been significantly better.

I searched for a word for “one who takes credit for the work of others”. Aside from “plagiarist”, I was offered “fraud, charlatan and impostor”.

Simon Hinks​
Brighton

Young political leaders will march this weekend

It’s clear that the Brexit crisis transcends party politics. Brexit, as well as the climate crisis, is a defining issue for our entire generation, no matter who you vote for. It’s about all of our futures, not just what sort of future we want to have for ourselves.

The chaos of the last few months in particular has angered so many young people. In Westminster, issues that matter to people from all sides (education, mental health, the climate crisis) have been pushed aside, whilst Brexit continues to dominate political discussion. And young people are often left out of it.

Over 70 per cent of young people in the UK voted to stay in the European Union in 2016, and 80 per cent of those enfranchised since would do so if given the chance. The issue of Europe is not partisan to young people as it is seen by many in older generations. We know the best future for us lies within Europe, and we want the chance to fight for it.

We want the right to live, work, and love in 27 EU countries. We want environmental protections and workers rights, prosperity for businesses. All of these things are integral to our future being the best it can be.

We may vote and campaign for different parties, but above all, we are united by our belief in democracy. A no-deal Brexit, still on the table, is not democracy. No one voted for this and people deserve a chance to show that given the state of the current Brexit crisis, they have changed their minds.

Therefore, on 19 October, we, and young people from all sides of the political spectrum, will be marching for a People’s Vote. Not just because our future hangs in the balance, not just because a no-deal Brexit will harm our communities, but because it must be demanded in the name of democracy.

For so many people, it seems like Brexit is just a game. Gambling on the future of those in Northern Ireland, EU citizens, and young people. They can be reckless on Brexit because they will always be alright while everyone else pays the price. We’ll be marching to fight to make sure they don’t get away with it.

Not only will we be marching for a Final Say, but millions of young people enfranchised since 2016, including some of the signatories to this letter, will be marching to have their first say. Parliament can’t put an end to the crisis, and Boris Johnson certainly can’t. It’s time to give power back to the people. And young people are ready to march to have that power as much as anyone else.

Rania Ramli, chair, Labour Students
Jordan Byrne, chair, Young Conservatives for a People’s Vote
Dan Schmeising and Callum James Littlemore, co-chairs, Young Liberals
Gavin Lundy, convener, Young Scots for Independence
Tyrone Scott, campaigns officer, Young Greens

The big picture is bleak

When Tory Brexiteers keep pleading to “get this over the line” so the “UK can move forwards” they really don’t or don’t want to understand that for many of us Brexit, by definition, is a disastrous backwards step. There is nothing that will ever reconcile remainers to a Leave agenda and the fightback will start straight away. We have to do this for the sake of our children no matter how long it takes.

Simon Watson
Address supplied

We don’t want no independence

The duplicity of the SNP is revealed once again. Previous claims that its MPs’ agitation has been all about preventing a damaging no-deal Brexit, now seamlessly change to an equally adamant opposition to Brexit with a deal, once again risking a no-deal outcome.

Equally disingenuous is the SNP claim that enabling a second independence referendum is in the best interests of the people of Scotland. Wherever people in Scotland stand on the proposition of leaving the UK or not, all can appreciate that the likely outcome of a rerun in the near term could very possibly be finely balanced one way or the other, so leaving Scotland in turmoil, potentially facing the most delicate and difficult of divorce deals to be negotiated, in full knowledge that roughly half the people of Scotland do not want it. It seems for the SNP leadership, no cost, nor risk, is too much to deter them from trying to get their way.

Keith Howell
West Linton, Scottish Borders

Politicians being… political

There is something ugly about the way the two Brexit MPs, John Baron and Ronnie Campbell, shouted down Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran on Newsnight, saying a second referendum to approve a deal shouldn’t happen. She asks them, “What are you so scared of?” Their answer is, essentially, that they are scared of the result.

What if the result is by a slim margin? What if the result is the same? What if we keep having to have referendums? they bleat. They didn’t say (perhaps because they don’t care) what if the union breaks up? Which is a strong possibility if a hard Brexit with a border in the Irish Sea is forced through.

When you live your life through fear (what if?) and a need to treat every decision you make as one that is cast in stone, you need some help. A political career is unlikely to bring you joy. But, one can only admire the ability of Boris Johnson to be a pragmatic politician with all the slipperiness and showmanship that that entails. He was born to do the job.

Alison Hackett
Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin

Lessons from history

It is hard to forget the last time the Commons met on a Saturday following the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands. Then, another old man leading the Labour Party, Michael Foot, goaded an unpopular extreme right-wing prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, into sending a naval Task Force down to the South Atlantic.

The fleet succeeded, turning Maggie into a national hero, condemning Foot and Labour to 14 more years in the political wilderness. Following populist policies in the name of patriotism is a simple matter but can lead to years of misery as many of us who lived through the Thatcher years can attest.

Might the same happen if a Saturday sitting of parliament approves of Brexit?

John Polley
Address supplied

A letter of Great Importance

We have just received a copy of a letter to Boris Johnson from the president of the United States of America: surprising how similar it is to his letter to the leader of Turkey:

Dear Prime Minister Johnson,

Don’t bother with a deal! You don’t want to be responsible for destroying thousands of people’s livelihoods, and I don’t want you to be responsible for destroying the UK’s economy – but you will. I’ve already given you a little sample with respect to a trillion pounds of assets that have moved out of the country.

I have worked hard to solve some of your problems, body odour, bad breath. Don’t let the UK down, carry on the daily washing and use of deodorant. You can make a great deal with the EU by not leaving at all. The EU is willing to negotiate with you, at arm’s length, and is willing to make concessions that they would never have made in the past, if you keep the UK inside. I am confidentially enclosing a copy of their letter to me, just received by pigeon post.

History will look, upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way. History will look upon you forever as the devil if you don’t stop Brexit. Stop being a liar. Don’t be a fool all the time!

I will call you later, but please use the breath freshener first?

Sincerely

Donald R Trump

Joel Josephson
Address supplied

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