That boiling cauldron of hatred, bile and intolerance that marinades and broils Brexit was embodied in the Dementor phantasm that possesses the human form of Esther McVey on Sophie Ridge this morning. When the Ergonaut Death Eaters join hands and attempt to make contact with the living sometimes, by accident, usually after a blood sacrifice, the apparition of McVey is conjured. Dear God she scares the shit out of me. She also rather makes me ashamed to be a Conservative. I am a progressive One Nation sort who abhors the screeching intolerance that has taken over our normally bumbling good natured British politics. But I will stay and fight.
Well, this week the blood sacrifice was the decent and cerebral Nick Boles. My kind of Tory. Pragmatic, caring and like Margaret Thatcher, believes in compromise. But under the new politics he is full of sin. He is a heretic. He has consistently voted for Madame’s deal and he wants to hold his party together. Like the Chief Whip I wish him well. We need people like Nick in Parliament. And in the party.
Please do not ask me to explain what happened last week as I am not entirely sure that I fully understand the alchemy of the anarchy. I suppose it was a little like the last hours of the Titanic where everyone was trying to jump into lifeboats. The difference was that nobody was quite sure which lifeboat to jump into.
So what will happen this week? Hah. I wish I knew. But I will hazard a guess. Every pressure will be put on the Death Eaters. McVey and her peculiars will vote in favour of something they think is ‘rancid’ and a ‘betrayal’ to save Brexit. How principled. Though Baker won’t. All his life he has waited for his spat chewing gum to be on the pavement of history. And this is his moment. Mogg is less of a fool. He still needs to maintain a fig leaf of credibility. He will reluctantly vote for it. With a sigh and the sort of veiled threat that only years of interbreeding can muster. The pork barrel will be out for the DUP and they will be bought. Corbyn will pretend that he has brought all sides together in the spirit of compromise and demand the politically impossible. But, and this is a very big but, the Death Eaters will demand a price. Heads on spikes. The Remainer traitors In cabinet, the evil Hammond, the wicked civil servants. The latest line appears to be ‘we need proper negotiators’. Which when you think of it is quite bizarre as the political negotiators have all been True Believers.
May must stay firm on this. If she sacks the Remainers in government the Party is dead. Government will really be in the hands of the Dementors. Even that won’t be enough. Nothing ever is.
So next week is probably the biggest decision time in post Suez politics. Common sense and pragmatism are now seen as a weakness rather than a strength. The only Danegeld that should be paid is Brexit. And nothing else. Otherwise a lot of
People like me will sail off into the sunset. And never return. McVey and her kind will cheer. God help us all.
