Remember this video clip?
Today it emerged that there will be customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom because of Brexit.
Sky News quotes Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Brexit:
"Johnson's government has failed to give businesses much needed clarity on this issue.
"It now seems Johnson was deeply dishonest with businesses when he previously asserted there would be no checks and businesses could put paperwork 'in the bin'."It was obvious to anyone who understood Johnson's Brexit agreement that these checks would have to be imposed.
But, as we have twice seen in the Commons this week, Johnson tells whatever lie will get him through the next ten seconds.
It's as simple as that.
1 comment:
Over time we have become accustomed to government ministers telling porkies by bluffing or baffling with facts or with a dodgy dossier. It is why the British are so good at rolling their eyes.
We are not used to the idea of the Prime Minister saying one thing, whilst documents and agreements tell the opposite story. Not on the scale of a lie about how goods are moved within the UK.
We know when we are being treated as if we are stupid. We recall things and we can read old documents.
The rules of political engagement have changed. They didn't change over a few months. Changes slid in over years and we treated each one as if it was a glitch in normal behaviour; as if we observed an easily corrected misdemeanour by a respected acquaintance.
Lib Dem MPs have to understand that circumstances have changed. Opposition is a different battle against different enemies. To get back to where we were, we (UK society) have to fight differently. The only way to remove dirt from UK politics is to get a bit dirty.
(Note how I cleverly avoided any reference to The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.)
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